Prof Zoliswa Fikelepi-Twani
Professor of Music and Head of Departmen
Qualifications:
PhD: Music (WITS); MMus – Music Education (UKZN); BSocSc Honours: Criminology (UKZN); BSocSc: Criminology & Legal Studies (UKZN).
About
Prof. Fikelepi-Twani: A Global Leader in Musicology and Mentorship. As a distinguished scholar, a full Professor of Music and Head of the Department of Creative Arts at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU), has made significant contributions to the field of musicology, particularly in African and South African music. With a PhD in Music from the University of the Witwatersrand, Prof. Fikelepi-Twani’s expertise spans Western Music History, World Music, and Ethnomusicology. She is a Pioneer in Music Education and Research. Prof. Fikelepi-Twani’s career has been marked by a commitment to excellence in both teaching and research. Her groundbreaking doctoral research, “Music Behind Bars,” explored the transformative power of music in prison rehabilitation. This work has had a lasting impact on the field and has been published as a book.
She is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of music scholars and has supervised numerous postgraduate students at Honors, Master’s, and Doctoral levels, and has co-authored publications with her mentees. Her contributions have been recognized internationally and nationally through DHET accredited journals she has published in and international conferences she has presented and chaired sessions in. She also serves the academic community as an external examiner for various institutions. Prof Fikelepi-Twani is the current director and executive producer of the Battle of Municipalities (BOM) Choral Music competitions Finale. She is a member of the judging panel for the Annual Humanities and Social Sciences Awards, and a recipient of the UNIZULU Vice Chancellor’s Award for Creative Outputs. Her research has been published in high-impact international journals, and she has presented her work at prestigious conferences worldwide.
Prof. Fikelepi-Twani’s contributions have been recognised internationally in the SSARN Project and the SAFINET project and also in the PENN State African Studies Global Virtual Forum. She has served as an external examiner for various institutions, and a recipient of the UNIZULU Vice Chancellor’s Award for Creative Outputs reviewed by external peers . Her research has been published in high-impact international journals, and she has presented her work at prestigious conferences worldwide.
She is involved in projects and programmes that are focused on shaping the future of Music Education in South Africa. She is a project leader of the current collaborative research and gedenkschrift on the life and contribution of the late Professor Khabi Mngoma. Her current research is on the decolonisation of the creative arts/music curriculum, and teaching and learning methods in the creative arts. Her work aims to challenge traditional approaches and promote a more inclusive and culturally relevant music education. Prof. Fikelepi-Twani is a leading figure in the field of musicology, whose research, teaching, mentorship, and international collaborations have had a significant impact. Her commitment to excellence, innovation, artivism and social justice has positioned her as a global scholar and a role model for aspiring musicians.
Research Interests
- Decolonisation/,Africanisation/Indigenisation of the music curriculum
- Music and gender
- Music and identity
- Action research studies
- Artivism and social justice
- Black choralism in South Africa – Amakwaya
Professional membership
- South African Finnish Network (SAFINET) Academic Exchange Project
- Artivism Research Community of Practice
- South African Society of Research in Music (SASRIM)
- PENN State African Studies Global Virtual Forum
Research Databases / Publications