Justinian Tamusuza

Justinian Tamusuza (born 1951) is a Ugandan composer of contemporary classical music. His music combines elements of traditional Ugandan music and Western music. He is best known for his first string quartet, which was included by the Kronos Quartet on their 1992 CD Pieces of Africa, which contains music by seven African composers. His music has also been performed by the Imani Winds.

Early life and education Tamusuza was born in Kibisi, a village in rural Uganda, where he was immersed in traditional Kiganda music from a young age. He learned as a child from the local traditional musicians, who played instruments such as the endingidi (tube-fiddle) and drums and sang at his parents' home. He notes that he still considers himself a student of this "school of traditional musicians". His early training was in Baganda traditional music, and his earliest instructors included the Reverend Anthony Okelo.

Tamusuza's formal schooling combined his background in Uganda's traditional music with Western influences. He attended Catholic seminaries, including Nswanjere and Kisubi Seminaries, and later St. Mary's College Kisubi and King's College Budo. In these schools, he served as the accompanist for the chapel choirs, which exposed him to Western hymns and musical structures. Tamusuza went on to study music in Europe and the United States. He trained at Queen's University Belfast in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with Alan Stout.

Tamusuza held a professorship and taught at the School of Music at Northwestern University, where he had earned his doctorate.

Composition career Pieces of Africa. The first movement of his string quartet Mu Kkubo Ery'Omusaalaba ("On the Way of the Cross") was included on the Kronos Quartet's groundbreaking album of 1992. The album reached number one on both the Billboard Classical and World Music charts, bringing his name to world attention.

Honors His educational pursuits earned him several honors, including: The British Council Fellowship for his MA in Twentieth Century Music at Queen's University Belfast. The Gwendolen M. Carter Scholarship for his Doctorate in Music Composition at Northwestern University. A Fulbright Senior Award for a Visiting Professorship at Northwestern University. A visiting fellowship at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) in 2019.

Personal life Tamusuza is married to Sylvia Nannyonga-Tamusuza, an African ethnomusicologist and Associate Professor at Makerere University in Uganda. They have several children and reside in Uganda. Justinian and Sylvia are a "husband-wife team" who often collaborate professionally, notably during a cross-continental residency hosted by Orchestra 2001 in 2023-2024.

A 2009 article mentioned that the couple had three children at the time, all sharing a cramped apartment and sleeping in a triple-decker bunk bed, before they took in another child, Oliva, as her legal guardians. Sylvia was later noted to have two more children.