STELLA did her undergrad in International Economics and Post grad in digital marketing. And because all work and no play makes STELLA a dull girl,she plays the saxophone. I recently read a pun that defined the saxophone as the instrument for intelligent people. If Stella Tushabe and all she has accomplished both in career and music plus her role working with AIMS are anything to go by, this is one pun that is true.
TAP had the pleasure of interviewing Stella Tushabe in Kigali, Rwanda. Read on and get to know Rwanda’s first female saxophone player.
Please tell the TAP Fam a little about your background
I was born in Masaka in rural Uganda. I schooled there all through to my O-levels and then I moved to Rwanda where I’ve been since. I did my undergrad in International Economics followed with a postgraduate in Digital marketing. I currently work in Communications at African Institute of Mathematical Sciences. AIMS job is to train and enable Africa’s brilliant minds to become innovators.
How was it growing up in Uganda?
For the most part life was actually fun because of the diversity in people and in cultures. On the downside, I was regularly reminded I did not belong. It was a relief to be back in Rwanda because I didn’t have to be ostracized anymore. With Rwanda, I found a place where I belonged and everything else fell perfectly into place. Nothing beats the feeling of belonging.
With your education background, how did you land into music? Did you find music or did music find you?
Music found me. My friend says you do not choose an instrument but the instrument chooses you. I think she is right,this is the story of how a car ride, a ringtone and the saxophone conspired to introduce me to music. In 2013, my friends and I were heading for a retreat. My friend’s phone rang and the ringtone had a saxophone intro, it was beautiful. Every time it rang, I would just close my eyes. I didn’t know what instrument that was, so I asked my friend and she said it was a saxophone. I asked if she thought I could learn how to play it and she was convinced I could play if I gave it my all. Now all I had to do was find a saxophone here in Rwanda which would turn out to be next to impossible.
Stella Tushabe, Rwanda’s first Rwandan female Saxophone player.
“eventually, I want to change the face of music. I want to do more than play an instrument”.
So how did you overcome this challenge?
I spoke to my uncle who lives in the west and I asked him to send me one. At first he was confused as to why I wanted one and he sent me a trumpet instead but of course it wasn’t the trumpet I fell in love with so I asked him to send the Saxophone. It came in a huge box. Now that it was here I needed to learn to play this beautiful instrument. I wrote on Kigali live website ,‘looking for a saxophone teacher…’.
You put out an advertisement?You were serious about this..
I was. A few weeks later I got a reply from a saxophone player called Herbert Rock. ” I saw you were looking for a saxophone teacher”, said Herbert. That is how he became my teacher. He still plays the saxophone in the Rwandan music scene. I am forever grateful to him and my friends too who would sit in my house and encourage me as I practiced, cheering me on and telling me I was doing well even though I knew I sounded horrible.
May 2, 2019, 9:57 am
Wow, am so proud of you Tush my Real and CMS.. reminds me of "Olivia’s stiff dance"