TopShelf April 2023

Q: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED INTO THE MUSIC EDUCATION CAREER FIELD?

Music education was always my career choice! I started teaching my little brothers and neighbor’s kids when I was in High School, even enrolling them in competitions. After qualifying as a piano teacher, I taught music at different schools and institutions, from Early Childhood through College level. I taught piano part-time even while I held positions such as the principal of two pre-primary schools and the director of a College of Education.

Q: CONGRATULATIONS, FOR BEING A RECIPIENT OF A GENCOR S3 BRONZE MEDAL FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH! CAN YOU TELL US, READERS, MORE ABOUT THIS SPECIAL AWARD AND WHAT RESEARCH YOU DID?

Gencor, a mining company in South Africa, annually issued this Bronze Medal. I received a Master’s degree (cum Laude) in Education at Fort Hare University, empirically researching the role of music in the school readiness program in the former homeland of Ciskei. At the time, I was a lecturer at Lovedale College for Continuing Education. A neighboring school agreed that I test the school readiness level of two groups of young learners, one group that would receive music training and a control group that did not. I devised a series of class music lessons for Grade one learners, focusing on specific school readiness skills. I trained my student-teachers to give these weekly lessons to a group of learners in a neighboring school over three months. After testing the school readiness level of the two groups again, I reached the conclusion that music training had a positive effect on their skill readiness level.

Q: YOU MENTIONED WRITING A BIOGRAPHY BOOK ABOUT YOUR FATHER WHO WAS AN ICONIC SOUTH AFRICAN ENTERTAINER CALLED PIET WAT POMPIES. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT HIM?

My father, Pieter van der Byl, started his entertainment career as a magician, comedian, and songwriter. He was one of the first radio personalities in South Africa, soon becoming so popular that the producers issued a country-wide competition to give him a stage name. His gimmick was to come on stage riding a bicycle, wearing a bicycle bell and horn mounted on a plank around his neck. The horn is a ‘pomp’ in the Afrikaans language. So, the winning name was Piet Pompies, referring to his real name and the pump. He went on to write two weekly radio comedy shows for a total of seventeen years as well as humorous articles for a weekly Sunday newspaper and a monthly magazine. I had to write a book about this fascinating man who pushed himself to become a master of whatever hobbies he entertained. He was a ventriloquist (his doll, called Sagarrias, lived in my closet), stage hypnotist, professional photographer (we had a dark room shed in the back garden, and he took the official photos of our one State President’s funeral), producer, and scriptwriter of three movies, winemaker, dahliaking, cook, and more. He wrote about 250 songs, some of which still earn royalties. His name Piet Pompies is a household name in South Africa and is used as an expression in the Afrikaans language today, e.g. “Write your name here, Piet Pompies.” My book’s title refers to ‘Piet (who was) Pompies,’ the original artist since, in recent years, a few singers usurped his name.

Q: WAS EVERYONE IN YOUR FAMILY TALENTED IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?

My uncle was a guitar and Hawaiian guitar player and co-wrote some songs. My brothers played in a band for a few years, but I was the one to pursue a musical career, playing tunes on the piano at age four. We had regular music evenings at our house.

Q: FOR US OUTSIDERS, WHAT WAS IT LIKE LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA? WHAT OTHER TOPICS CAN READERS FIND IN YOUR MEMOIR, HIPPOS, HOTSPOTS, AND HOMELANDS?

In my book, I quote an unknown author: “My carefree existence was orchestrated by the mechanisms of Apartheid.”

Growing up as a white South African, I was privileged and had many advantages, such as excellent living conditions and a good education. Since the population groups led separate lives, we did not have racial interaction. As I moved into the black educational field, I became fascinated with different tribal cultures. I served on boards to build bridges between population groups and worked hard to promote my South Sotho choir and music festivals.

During the transitional period to democracy, there was political unrest and uncertainty. Unfortunately, people had to adjust to a dramatic increase in crime. Yet, somehow, the transition was peaceful, and the Truth and Reconciliation hearings brought healing for many people.

My book covers my experiences as an educator from the Apartheid era to post-apartheid democracy. The title references three main topics: Hippos - my adventures living in the exclusive Big-Five Sabie Sand Game Reserve while teaching at a black college, Hotspots - stories of the political and educational turmoil of the time, e.g., being held hostage at the colleges I taught at and being the victim of crime on a few occasions; Homelands - the history and culture of the people, and my experiences while teaching in the Ciskei (Xhosa people), QwaQwa (South Sotho), and Gazankulu (Tsonga).

Q: WHEN CAN READERS EXPECT FOR YOUR TWO SEQUELS: FROM THE LOWVELD TO THE LOWCOUNTRY, AND BOOMERS, BAGGAGE, AND BACKPACKS TO BE RELEASED?

I hope to complete From the Lowveld to the Lowcountry by November 2023 and Boomers, Baggage, and Backpacks during the following year, 2024.

Q: WHAT TOPICS WILL BE FEATURED IN YOUR NEW SEQUELS?

From the Lowveld to the Lowcountry describes moving from the African bush of the Lowveld to a different life and the culture of the South Carolina Lowveld. I marvel at the Gullah culture I encounter and the challenges of dealing with Middle schoolers at a rural public school in McLellanville and then adjusting to an appointment three years later at an exclusive Girls’ School in downtown Charleston. I recount Lowcountry activities such as contra-dancing, crabbing, oyster roasts, and Kwanzaa celebrations and explore different states through an immigrant’s eyes. The book also refers to the joy of becoming a dual citizen in the United States of America.

Boomers, Baggage, and Backpacks will take the reader on tours I have led or taken, describe exciting experiences, and tell quirky stories about some of the guests on these tours. It will also relate adventures, such as passing out on a plane and being in a lifejacket for seventeen hours on the Viking Sky while helicopters airlifted passengers. It nearly ran aground off the Norwegian coast three years ago.

Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING WRITERS IN THE MUSIC AND EDUCATION FIELD AREAS?

I would recommend practicing writing regularly while learning the craft and finding your voice. If writing in a specific field area,

it is essential to research and collect as much information as possible about that subject. When aspiring to write about music and education, follow your gut when deciding the subject matter.

Starting on my latest projects, I collected data from my previous emails, blogs, and newsletters. I then outlined my design, structuring my work. Aspiring writers should know that they must persevere and that there may be several drafts before a project is ready. They should pay attention to grammatical rules and sentence structure and have the work edited. I imagine myself in the situation I write about and then think whether a reader remain interested.

Q: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE?

I would say that I have a descriptive and factually accurate writing style. However, it is personal, often with a self-deprecating and situational sense of humor. Reviewers comment on a captivating, entertaining, and intriguing storytelling style that draws in the reader.

Q: WHAT OTHER PLACES HAVE YOU TRAVELED TO BESIDES SOUTH AFRICA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, SWITZERLAND, AND CANADA? WHAT ARE SOME MEMORABLE THINGS YOU HAVE WITNESSED ON SOME OF YOUR TRAVELS?

48 States in America – memorable that each State is like its own country, with its own personality and unique sights. Other things: Pink desert of Arizona, Vulcano on the big island, Hawai, glaciers in Alaska

Australia – aborigines encountered on Kuranda Skyrail

New Zealand – unforgettable Haka executed by Maoris

Eight countries in South America – Iguazu Waterfall, Tango in Argentina, Wine estates in Mendoza, Galapagos tortoise

Norway, Wales, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Basque France

Africa: Egypt – Valley of the Kings, Kenya – ferry at Mombasa, Tanzania - migration, Angola, Rwanda, Zimbabwe – Victoria Falls, Namibia – highest sand dunes in the world

Islands in the Indian Ocean: Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion

United Emirates, Dubai – desert safari; Saudi Arabia – enclosed balconies of the old city

Q: IS TRAVEL WRITING YOUR FAVORITE PASSION BESIDES TEACHING MUSIC?

If I could think of a slogan for me, I would say, “Travel is my world, music is my soul, and writing is my craft. ”

I relive my travels through writing, whether in articles or books. I love the traveling experiences, the research to get my facts straight, sorting photos, and the writing process. I have published nearly 60 articles. I felt honored to be awarded a 2nd prize in an International Travel News competition (2018) and a Bronze Medal in a Travel Writers University contest (Travel Writers Café, February 2022.)

ABOUT ELSA VAN DER BYL / ELSA DIXON

In 2018, under her maiden name, Elsa van der Byl, she published PIET wat POMPIES was, an Afrikaans biography of her father, an iconic South African entertainer, and household name. Hippos, Hotspots, and Homelands, a memoir of her last twenty years in South Africa during the tumultuous transitional years to democracy, followed in 2020. She is currently writing two sequels: From the Lowveld to the Lowcountry, and Boomers, Baggage, and Backpacks.

As a travel writer, Elsa won 2nd prize in an International Travel News competition (2018) and a Bronze Medal in a Travel Writers University contest (Travel Writers Café, February 2022.) She is also a contributor to stock photography sites.

Elsa has led custom tours to South Africa and other countries since 2006. TravelswithElsa LLC has an active website and blogging component and lists her publications and published articles. Since her brothers, four married daughters, husbands, and nine grandchildren live in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada, she has reason to travel extensively.

Links:

Elsa Dixon Ph.D. (Piano teacher) https://musicwithelsa.com/

TravelswithElsa LLC (Tour group leader)

Website: https://travelswithelsa.com/ Travel writer, author, and photographer

IFWTWA, and Travel Writers University member

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelswithelsa/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelswithelsa/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/travelswithelsa

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mynetwork/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/elsadixon9/