Music is what inspired former Ashton pupil into transforming the lives of rural youth

Thando Nkangana, a local music teacher, is dedicated to the cause of transforming the lives of rural youth though music.

Recently he challenged himself to run 120kms over 3 days through rural villages in the Eastern Cape in a quest to raise funds to provide sanitary pads to underprivileged girls in the villages.

He raised enough to provide 1 650 girls with enough sanitary pads for a year.

Nkangana said he ran to show these young women that they matter.

Having started as a private drumming teacher at Ashton International College 4 years ago, he joined the Early Years Foundation Phase as a music teacher and continues to share his music passion with his pupils.

Trained in classical percussion, Nkangana played with the KZN Philharmonic Youth Orchestra for 10 years.

His journey began in 2011 when he was recruited into the KZN Yourth Orchestra’s training program after he was spotted by the national youth orchestra in PE, where he grew up.

At the age of 20, Nkangana, part of a group of 15 talented youths, trained in their year long program.

In 2014 he joined the orchestra as a professional musician and remained with them for a decade, touring with the orchestra and performing on national and international stages.

A pivotal moment was playing at the late Nelson Mandela’s funeral on December, 15, 2013.

“Music, percussion and drumming is my passion. I grew up in a township and the only exposure I had to music and drumming was through the parades at rugby and other sporting events.”

“Things turned around for me when the Field Band Foundation visited my school. The NGO instilled my love of music and my life took on a different path because of the opportunity I was given.”

Just before he joined the orchestra he was invited to go to Vienna for 2 weeks to attend a master class and it was while in the famous concert hall, Wiener Musikverein, home to the Vienna Orchestra that Nkangana’s idea to start his own NGO, Rhythm of Grace was born.

“In 2019 I left the orchestra and started teaching full time and continue to grow the NGO.”

His dream is to provide music education to a broad base of children and youth in previously disadvantaged communities in KZN.

“My vision is to enrich and transform lives of children in rural or remote areas in South Africa.”

At the same time the gifted Nkangana wants to continue pushing his limits and taking on other running challenges to continue raising funds for his Village to Village project.