*Ubuntu:  Engaging with underserved communities across national boundaries through music & opera

Langelihle Mngxati is an Opera singer (Bass-baritone) and music educator (specifically Voice Trainer).  He received his education in Music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and completed his graduate degree (MA) in Opera Performance and Music at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in 2017.

Langelihle works for ArtSmart, an organization that helps provide free music lessons and mentorship to talented youth in communities that lack access to the arts.  ArtSmart partners with middle and high schools in several cities across the nation, namely, Philadelphia, Chicago, Newark & Jersey City, NYC, and San Francisco.  Langelihle works for the ArtSmart mentorship program in Philadelphia where he teaches Voice. While in Dallas, Langelihle served in an Opera Community Outreach Program through The Dallas Opera where they visited schools, performed and educated students about Opera.

Langelihle is interested in conversations around how music/opera can be used to engage with communities in the spirit of Ubuntu.

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*Ubuntu is a Zulu word for an ethical concept from the Southern African region which means literally "human-ness" and is often translated as "humanity toward others".  It is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”. Through the Ubuntu Program we will have a series of events aimed at sharing skills, experiences, talents, and knowledge with the House community.