Airy peace activist, Mandela ally debuts new album - The Chestnut Hill Local

Sharon Katz, a longtime singer-songwriter from Mt. Airy and a peace activist with deep ties to Nelson Mandela, is set to debut her new album, “Desert Air.” She will perform selections from the record in Wayne on Aug. 9 with her band, The Peace Train. Katz grew up in South Africa’s Port Elizabeth and has repeatedly visited her homeland, where she is known for her close connection to Mandela and for a 1994 concert for 90,000 people at a South African stadium during the final political rally before Mandela’s election. A self-taught musician, Katz earned music instruction training at Trinity College London in 1980 and later a master’s in music therapy at Temple University in 1983. She previously practiced music therapy in Philadelphia prisons and mental health facilities, and, alongside her wife Marilyn Cohen, formed multiracial musical groups despite threats. The article also notes her musical credits with artists including Elton John, Paul Simon, Sting, Tina Turner and Luciano Pavarotti.