Abel Mafuleni

Abel Mafuleni was born in 2000 to Jacob Mafuleni and Martha Thom. He grew up in the high density suburbs of Dzivaresekwa in Harare. His musical interest arose at a very young age. In 2008, he started to learn how to play various instruments. Abel joined a group called Tsoro Arts in 2013, which was led by Jacob Mafuleni. In that group Abel learned how to dance Zimbabwean traditional dances, marimba and singing, and toured around the world.

In 2014, Abel Mafuleni joined the Prince Edward Marimba band and in 2016 he won many awards as an up-and-coming musician and best solo player. Abel is now a composer for Tsoro Arts and is a master craftsman, making three different types of mbira: nhare and dzavadzimu, nyunga nyunga and njari and munyonga, and marimba at a high level. He teaches mbira and marimba to the community for free, as a way of passing it on. His craftsmanship is inspired by America, when he toured the USA in 2018. For the first time he was shocked by the marimba groups he saw in the states and people playing Zimbabwean music. Abel took a course in California with Rob Moeller on how to make loud and properly tuned marimbas.