By Mimi Pollack
RAMONA, California — South African musician and humanitarian Sharon Katz will be giving a complimentary concert at the Ramona Ranch Winery on Sunday, April 16th from 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon with a wonderful musician in a lovely setting?
Music can soothe and heal the soul, no matter where you are from. The Ramona Ranch Winery, which is also a working farm with animals, will provide a peaceful outdoor setting where one can enjoy their award-winning wines by the bottle or the glass as they listen to songs in Spanish and various African languages sung by Katz, a musician who also has quite a story to tell.
Imagine growing up in South Africa during the time of Apartheid as a discreetly rebellious Jew. For Sharon Katz, music was her salvation and a door to a world she wasn’t supposed to be a part of, but later thrived in and found her voice to speak up. Today, Katz is a South African musician and music therapist, and director of The Peace Train Project.
Born in Port Elizabeth, now known as Nelson Mandela Bay, in 1955, Katz‘s life was changed at 15 when she saw an anti-apartheid play, and her eyes were opened. Katz took refuge in music and taught herself to play the guitar at the age of 11 by listening to the music of Simon and Garfunkel, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Pete Seeger. That led to a life of music and making a difference in the world with the formation of the Peace Train Project, where a mingling of music and compassionate activism was encouraged and grew.
Music became her way to try and bring together a torn nation. The Peace Train Project was formed in 1992 as a way to honor Nelson Mandela, who would become president in 1994, and help heal a divided country. By then, Katz had her master’s degree in music therapy and along with her Zulu singing partner, Nonhlanhla Wanda, formed a 500-voice multiracial and multicultural youth choir. They hired a train, dubbed “The Peace Train”, and they traveled to various, but still apartheid separated communities all over South Africa. The goal was to rehearse and build trust as they stopped and performed in different towns. Katz likes to say that the Peace Train was a moving billboard for Nelson’s message of peaceful coexistence. In 2013, they celebrated 20 years of that original ride through South Africa.
A 2015 documentary, When Voices Meet, chronicles this time and the 20 years that follow. The documentary can be found on Amazon Prime.
Later on, Katz moved to Philadelphia, and it became her home base where she taught classes and from where she traveled to concerts all over the USA and the world spreading her message of humanitarianism.
In 2018, she and her partner, Marilyn Cohen, made another life changing plan by moving to Tijuana, continuing a life of adventure and giving back. This move was inspired after Katz met someone from The San Diego PeaceMakers Fund who asked her if she would be willing to do cross-border work. Katz then connected with Alida Guajardo de Cervantes and Promotora Bellas Artes in Tijuana. Promotora Bellas Artes is an organization that works with school children who come from poorer neighborhoods, bringing music into their schools.
Together with the Promotora, Katz worked with 1,500 children, going from school to school in Tijuana teaching them South African songs, etc. Later those children, along with Katz and her band and an orchestra, performed a concert together. Katz and her band have also performed all over Baja, including concerts in Todos Santos and Pescadero. Her future plans are to move back to San Diego where she will work with various libraries among other projects, including bringing good tunes to enliven the experience at the Ramona Ranch Winery this Sunday.
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This article appeared initially on East County Magazine, which exchanges news and features with San Diego Jewish World under auspices of the San Diego Online News Association. Mimi Pollack is a La Mesa-based freelance writer.
Excellent overview of Katz’s life and accomplishments!!