Teen makes whale music with five instruments

Karen Watkins|Published 1 year ago

ZZ plays the double-bass in front of one of the paintings she created for the performance.

A 16-year-old Hout Bay International School pupil mimicked the music of whales using five different string instruments during a solo Freedom Day performance to a packed hall at Hout Bay Museum.

Zeta-Zara “ZZ” Wanamaker, of Pinelands, played the double bass, the harp, the electric violin, the violin and the cello during the performance, which was part of a year-long school project that includes poetry, painting and storytelling and explores themes of whale conservation, female empowerment and gender violence.

ZZ’s father, Chuck Wanamaker, said she had started learning compositional technique for whale music in October last year.

“I dedicate this performance to my teachers and to a school that doesn’t just give us textbooks and make us sit in class,” said ZZ. “They provide skills to take into the future as well as teaching service and creativity and making a difference in the world.”

ZZ began learning compositional technique for imitating baleen whale sounds in October last year. Here she is on the harp.

The electronic violin was one of the five string instruments she played during her performance.