SA College of Music immortalised in new ringtones

The South African College of Music (SACM) at UCT has produced five of the new Microsoft Lumia 535 ringtones as part of the Microsoft Sounds of the World project, which has been creating ringtones from regions around the world.

The project, championed by principal sound designer at Microsoft, Henry Daw, was initiated a year ago with the idea of creating localised ringtones for their devices. Inspiration for the project started in the School of Oriental and African Studies' (SOAS) music department in London, where ethnomusicology is a main focus. From there, Microsoft decided to take the project global. Daw and his team visited four continents and met more than 150 music students in their search for the right ringtones. He set up workshops and seminars with the SACM, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China and the KM Music Conservatory in India. The final selection are now included as ringtones on the Lumia 535, the first Microsoft-branded Lumia.

"Creating different ringtones from the four corners of the Earth, and learning about music cultures and music education, was an eye-opening experience," says Daw. "In Cape Town, the African percussion department introduced to us some drums I'd never even heard of."

Listen to the full SACM ringtones playlist on SoundCloud or listen to the individual ringtones below:

African Hue | Back in Town | Djembe Jig | Kalimba Sunrise | Tabletop

Listen to more Lumia ringtones.