Help Nkululeko get to his US doctoral program

Hello Friends, Family and EVERYONE in between!

My name is Nkululeko, which translates to English as Freedom. Since I was a little boy, I have dreamed of traveling the world to learn from the best institutions with the brightest minds. Throughout the years, I continually worked hard toward these goals. I have been offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study at one of the top academic powerhouses in America, the University of Georgia. This opportunity is not only a personal goal but a collective dream of all those who helped raise me to transcend the limitations of the profoundly unequal political and social system in South Africa, having themselves grown up in a deeply oppressive South Africa. Today, we can all celebrate this victory as I prepare for one of my most outstanding achievements to obtain a doctorate in Composition, a field I am most passionate about.

My journey has had some painful twists and unexpected turns. The first would have to be completing a Master’s degree during the start of the pandemic in 2020. Afterwhich I had prepared to enter the workforce in America. However, all employment prospects that I had lined up vanished overnight. COVID-19 became a global issue quickly, forcing everyone, including myself, into new unforeseen directions. With no guidance on what to do next, I felt depleted and feared I would never be allowed to study further in this art form I love. While the pandemic severely affected all industries, it devastated the arts globally, and as the world fell into lockdown, so did my hopes and dreams. Never giving up, I decided to continue pursuing the arts because, truthfully, the arts kept me alive and sane through it all.

I am thrilled to share that my hopes and dreams are becoming a reality! I have accepted a dream opportunity to complete a Doctor of Musical Arts program in Electroacoustic Composition at the University of Georgia in the United States. This program is wonderfully designed to further my studies in contemporary composition writing styles and challenge my knowledge of Classical music. I am incredibly grateful and fortunate to have been awarded an incredible scholarship that will cover my tuition costs while I study. This vital leg of my academic journey would be impossible without this opportunity!

I am very honored that the University of Georgia sees a young black South African composer worthy of being a part of their doctoral program. Words cannot describe my gratitude. As I prepare to relocate to the United States, these funds will go toward US F-1 Visa applications, flight tickets and settling-in costs (groceries, household items, etc.) I humbly ask for your help in this regard. If you can and would like to donate, please click the donate button above.

Any small amount can help... Here is my thinking, if 100 people buy me a congratulatory drink at $15, I'll reach my goal ;)

Please share with family, friends and everyone in between! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support! Enkosi kakhulu! (IsiXhosa for “Thank You”)

Want to know more about the program? Please visit the department's website at https://grad.uga.edu/index.php/degree/music-dma/