So. What did your university do for you? Teach you… how to do research? How to make up convincing excuses for not being able to write an exam/prepare for a lecture/hand in an assignment? How to hold your liquor? All about the opposite sex? How to spot intelligently for exams? Never to turn down free booze? Probably a combination of all of those, and I have to say that they are all useful skills both at univeristy and later in life. But what does it do for you these days?
If, like me, you are lucky enough to be an alumnus of the former University of Port Elizabeth and find yourself living in London, you will discover that not only did your university give you a world-class education that has enabled you to find a good job in one of the great world cities without too much hassle (visa issues aside, grrrr!), but that it also provides an annual reunion function, right in the heart of the City of London. With free booze (thanks to the generous sponsorship of Investec). And let me assure you that even long after you have a steady – even good – income, the promise of free booze triggers some atavistic student reaction in your brain stem. So once a year when I get an e-mail from my alma mater (now amalgamated with the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista under its new name of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) to say that the annual NMMU function in London is coming up, for five minutes I once again get to experience the breathless excitement a first-year student anticipating the annual Law Society cheese and wine function with thirsty, hand-rubbing glee.
It never ceases to amaze my friends in London (South African and otherwise) that my university actually holds an annual function in London – and has done so for eight years. It started out as a very casual get-together in a pub in 2001 but is now a formal drinks and nibbles function which has even been held at the beautiful South Africa House on Trafalgar Square, and which was this year attended by our brand new Vice-Chancellor Prof Derrick Swartz. As well as a fundraising opportunity for the NMMU Trust, the function provides an opportunity for ex-NMMU students to meet, catch up, and maybe do a bit of networking, and after a few drinks there is always the inevitable reminiscing about student days. Nothing like a night of wine and nostalgia to make you feel warm and fuzzy towards your university!
So every year, the function is a summer fixture that we all look forward to. But this year we got something extra in the shape of Siphiwo Ntshebe. Siphiwo was born and bred in PE (like me and many other NMMU alumni) and grew up in New Brighton. From an early age his musical talent was apparent, and when he was 16 he won a scholarship to join the choral programme at UCT. But when that was over, he returned to his roots to study music at NMMU (then UPE) from 1992-1995 before furthering his studies in Brisbane and the prestigious Royal College of Music in London. When he heard that there was a NMMU function in London, where he is now based, he took it upon himself to call Prof. Kotie Grove (who always organises the event) to ask if they would mind if he came along to give a free performance to his fellow alumni.
Siphiwo slipped in quietly while the speeches were in progress, so by the time we all drifted back out into the room where the bar and snacks were, he was ready to roll, singing to an orchestral backing track as he wandered among us. On paper, it sounds incongruous – a South African from an unknown and largely impoverished suburb, singing Italian operatic arias to a room full of his South African fellow-alumni in London. But let me tell you – when he opened his mouth, you were transfixed by his rich and lovely tenor voice. Close your eyes and it could have been a young Pavarotti. When he sang O sole mio, I got goosebumps. This guy is good – really good – and here he was giving a free concert to us, purely because we went to the same university. Now how often do you get people wanting to give away their professional services for free?? I don’t know if it’s a testimony to the open and generous spirit of South Africans, or a testimony to the type of loyalty that NMMU breeds among its alumni. Either way, I don’t think anybody there will forget it for a long time.
After the performance, my husband and I spent a long time chatting to Siphiwo and discovered that they knew some people in common from their university residences. A nicer person you could hardly hope to meet – down to earth and friendly (despite having sung for Madiba himself!), with a quick and infectious chuckle. And, of course, hugely talented. Keep your eyes on this young South African – he’s still going to rock the opera world.
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