The Antigua Team: Meet Elijah Kiwalabye
Sharing Uganda’s musical heritage and championing its young musicians Find out more about our 2026 Antigua Trip
Elijah Kiwalabye brings Uganda’s music to Antigua
Elijah Kiwalabye is a Ugandan music educator and founder of Thrive Music Academy Africa in Kampala. In November 2026, he will represent Uganda as a Commonwealth Music Ambassador at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda. His programme includes performing with the special World Orchestra, contributing to the cross-cultural opening performance for the Commonwealth People’s Forum and taking part in the Commonwealth Music Conference. He hopes the visit will give international visibility to the talent and potential of the young musicians he teaches.
It validates years of grassroots work with young people in Uganda and shows that our local sounds have a global place.
If my students see that their teacher stood on a Commonwealth stage, they will believe they can too.
If my students see that their teacher stood on a Commonwealth stage, they will believe they can too.
Elijah first discovered The Commonwealth Resounds in 2022 through its Platinum Jubilee project, which brought choirs together to sing A Life Lived With Grace across the Commonwealth. The idea of one song uniting people across borders resonated with his work in Uganda, where he teaches talented young people with limited resources. For Antigua, he will bring Ugandan instruments including the adungu, tube fiddle and drums, sharing polyrhythms and call-and-response singing as ways of exploring culture and telling stories.
I am particularly keen to share how music inspires grassroot young people in Uganda, I work with youth who have immense talent but limited resources. I have learned how to teach and arrange music with minimal infrastructure but maximum creativity.
Meeting fellow delegates is an opportunity to hear how Ugandan rhythms can interact with those of Antigua and Barbuda. Elijah is especially keen to learn about carnival music, steelpan traditions, calypso and soca, and how musicians keep their heritage relevant to younger generations. He recognises the same challenge in Uganda and wants to return with teaching approaches and musical ideas he can share with his students. The exchange is also a chance to build friendships that can support future collaborations.
I am particularly keen to share how music inspires grassroot young people in Uganda, I work with youth who have immense talent but limited resources. I have learned how to teach and arrange music with minimal infrastructure but maximum creativity.
Meeting fellow delegates is an opportunity to hear how Ugandan rhythms can interact with those of Antigua and Barbuda. Elijah is especially keen to learn about carnival music, steelpan traditions, calypso and soca, and how musicians keep their heritage relevant to younger generations. He recognises the same challenge in Uganda and wants to return with teaching approaches and musical ideas he can share with his students. The exchange is also a chance to build friendships that can support future collaborations.
I am very eager to learn about Antigua and Barbuda’s carnival music, steelpan traditions, and folk forms like calypso and soca. I want to understand how they preserve their heritage while making it relevant for young people today – that is exactly the challenge we face in Uganda.
Elijah wants Commonwealth leaders to see music education as an investment in young people’s skills, wellbeing and opportunities to earn a living. His ambitions for the visit extend beyond the performances: he hopes to develop lasting friendships, bring new ideas back to Uganda and show his students that their music belongs on an international stage. He would like the collaborations begun in Antigua to continue through online composition and cultural exchanges, supported by sustained investment in young musicians after CHOGM has ended.
I would like leaders to understand that music is not a luxury or an extracurricular activity – it is education, it is employment, it is mental health, it is identity. When you invest in a young person’s music education, you are investing in peace, confidence, and entrepreneurship. If my students see that their teacher stood on a Commonwealth stage, they will believe they can too.