International Library of African Music


The International Library of African Music is an organization dedicated to the preservation and study of African music. Seated in Grahamstown, South Africa, ILAM is attached to the Music Department at Rhodes University and coordinates its Ethnomusicology Programme which offers undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Ethnomusicology that include training in performance of African music. ILAM, as the largest repository of indigenous African music, is particularly known for its study of the lamellophone mbira of Zimbabwe and Mozambique, as well as the Chopi people's Timbila, a variant of the marimba from southern Mozambique.
on the wall, and a photo of Hugh Tracey.

Publications and recordings

ILAM was founded by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey in 1954, made possible through grants received from the Nuffield Foundation and the South African Department of Education.
ILAM published the , now known as the African Music. ILAM was initially located in Msaho. When Hugh Tracey died in 1977, his son Andrew took over as director. Private funding had dried up, but Rhodes University agreed to host ILAM, and both ILAM and AMI moved to Grahamstown in 1978.
Andrew Tracey served as director until 2005, after which Diane Thram served as the director. The current director is Dr. Lee Watkins.

Notable collections

The following collections are available online: