Music of the Mountains: Where to be and what to see -- Randy McIntosh and Blessing Chimanga of Kutandara

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In 1999, Amy and Randy McIntosh co-founded an organization of their own to continue teaching music from the African diaspora. They called it Kutandara, a Zimbabwe term meaning “to come together and have fun.” The two have now fully cemented their roles in the organization – Amy as the executive director, Randy as the artistic director, and both as instructors. After Randy had been denied opportunities to teach African music, he could now teach through his own program, which started in Lafayette. After moving locations over the next few years as nearby tenants became tired of the constant music, Kutandara finally settled in their current Boulder location.

Kutandara has taught multiple groups over the last 25 years. These groups include Kunaka (meaning “really good”), Takapenga (meaning “we are awesome”), and Shamwari (a Shona term for greeting a friend). Currently, it teaches three primary groups. The adult group, Kutandara, includes three different bands: Kutandara Kombi, or the “little” band, with three marimbas, electric mbira, drum set, hosho, guitar, and vocals; Kutandara Marimba, in which seven musicians play bass, baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano marimbas; and Kutandara Marimba Experience, which includes the 7-piece marimba orchestra, drum set, electric mbira, guitar, electric bass, and percussion. Then, there’s the senior teen band Tanaka, loosely meaning “we have arrived.” Finally, there’s the junior teen band Mhodzi, which means “seeds,” a shorthand method of conveying the idea of those members being the seeds of tomorrow.

Through these groups, Kutandara is dedicated to teaching people of all ages how to play music from the African diaspora, properly play a show, stay engaged the entire time, set up for a show, and get comfortable performing in front of an audience. Randy, who always found himself nervous playing piano by himself, loves performing with these groups and seeing them bring the pieces to life every show.

While the program still uses the name Kutandara, it was incorporated as a non-profit in 2017. At that point, Amy and Randy dissolved Kutandara Center as a legal entity and reformed it as the 501(c)(3) entity Moon and Stars Foundation, named after one of Randy’s most popular original compositions.

Over the years, Kutandara students have traveled to various places focused on African music, transitioning from visiting the Zimbabwe Music Festival (which Kutandara produced in Boulder in 2009) to Zimbabwe itself. The organization has been able to directly connect more with Zimbabwe, including meeting a local musician, Blessing “Coach Bled” Chimanga, on a 2017 trip to the country. After being asked to produce the annual Kutandara fundraiser for three separate years, Blessing became the first visiting artist of the organization.

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