AMANZIMTOTI resident Rob Rodell, who won the Ollie’s Pub & Grill Battle of the Voices karaoke competition last year, recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree from the University of South Africa (Unisa).
Rodell, who also placed in the top 20 at the Galleria’s Got Talent competition in September last year, said he toiled with the degree for a decade before completing it.
“In addition, the degree was comprised of two major subjects, which were music in history, and society, and composition studies. We had to compose for Western art music, jazz and pop music, and we also had to become proficient at music production, which requires an understanding of the properties of sound and digital audio workstations,” he said.
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Rodell, who already has three degrees in communications and marketing, said that the BMus is his favourite degree.
“I have loved music all my life, and I had always wanted to study it further. Eventually, after I finished my master’s, I decided it was time to tackle a BMus. It was so tough, and I almost didn’t make it, but I loved every minute of the degree,” he said.
The highlight of his graduation, he said, was walking across the stage to be capped. Breaking with tradition and giving the ceremony a decidedly African flavour, Rodell burst into song with a rendition of Siyabonga Baba, which got the crowd going and went viral on TikTok.
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