By Luchwayito Vena

 

Jonathan Hughes, a fourth-year BMus student at Rhodes University, emerged victorious in a prestigious essay competition hosted by the Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa (JMAA). Known for his involvement in the Makhanda music community, Hughes, a part-time music teacher at Kingswood College, curated a series of successful concerts in 2022 called 'Organ Crawls' to showcase the historic organs of Makhanda.

His winning essay, titled 'Addressing the Pipework in South Africa's Oldest Playable Organ: A Materialist-Political History,' centres around an organ built by William Hill in the 1830s. The instrument, featured in the first 'Organ Crawl,' became the focus of Hughes's research, challenging its symbolic significance within an idealised settler community. The essay impressed the anonymous reviewers with its elegance, well-written style, and convincing arguments grounded in original archival research. It will be published in this year's edition of the Journal (https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rmaa20).

Dominic Daula, a Lecturer in the Department of Music and Musicology at Rhodes University, supervised Hughes. He said: “I am absolutely elated that Jonathan's research is being recognised in this way, and I’m proud to have played a part in his development as a researcher, and to have been a sounding board for his ideas. What impresses me about Jonathan is his willingness to embrace a challenge. The depth of research required for this project is far beyond what one would expect of an undergraduate; he, however, undertook the operation with utter relish and, I suspect, proved a few people wrong!”  

Hughes' achievement adds to the University's track record of success in the JMAA competition. Rhodes University has produced previous winners such as Boudina Coetzer McConnachie (2005), Nicole Germiquet Pooley (2013), and Pinkie Mojaki (2014), all affiliated with the Department of Music and Musicology. Hughes's success is celebrated as a testament to the high standards of academic excellence within the Department, showcasing the University's commitment to nurturing promising young scholars in the field of musical arts in Africa.

Watch this insightful video, produced by Rhodes University’s School of Journalism, to find out more about Hughes’ love for the organ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEuX4Z_QOaI