Akufuna Sifuba - Tenor

Gideon Akufuna Sifuba has been performing as a musician for more than 15 years. He began as a member, then a soloist and finally a conductor of his church choir. He taught himself to play the clarinet and quickly joined the church orchestra. Upon moving to Namibia from Zambia, Akufuna took a job with a church, establishing choirs in new church communities – thus beginning his career as a professional musician. Akufuna was a music teacher in Namibia, as well as a conductor for several choirs and a community brass band. He also worked for the Namibian College of the Arts, teaching music as an extracurricular activity to underprivileged children. As a tenor, Akufuna has performed and recorded with the acclaimed Mascato Coastal Choir of Namibia. As a clarinetist, he has performed and recorded as a guest soloist with the Namib Marimbas. In addition, Akufuna is a well-established African drummer, and has toured with the Ongoma Drummers giving performances and workshops to tourists throughout Namibia.

Akufuna immigrated to Canada in the spring of 2006. He has worked with the AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, acting as musical director for their productions of “Have you seen Zandile” and “Sophiatown”. In addition to his other musical talents, Akufuna is also a composer. He is proud to have had The Mascato Coastal Choir, Edmonton’s Kokopelli and Oran Choirs and The Nathaniel Dett Chorale perform his original compositions and traditional African transcriptions.

Currently, Akufuna conducts full day choral and drumming workshops throughout the Greater Toronto Area, and is a music and education student at York University.