Difference between revisions of "Bongani Ndodana-Breen"

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[[Bongani Ndodana-Breen]] Composer.
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[[Bongani Ndodana-Breen]] (1975-) Composer.
  
 
== Biography ==
 
== Biography ==
 +
Born in Queenstown.
  
 
==Training==
 
==Training==
  
Ndodana-Breen graduated from Rhodes University with a PhD in Music Composition.
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He was educated at St Andrews College, then at [[Rhodes University]], where his teachers included [[Ishbel Sholto-Douglas]].  He subsequently was awarded a scholarship by the [[Foundation for the Creative Arts]] that allowed him to study composition with [[Roelof Temmingh]] at the [[University of Stellenbosch]].
 +
 
 +
==Training==
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Matriculated at St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown, and in 1994 won a [[South African Music Rights Organisation]] ([[SAMRO]]) bursary to [[Rhodes University]]. A grant from the Foundation for the Creative Arts enabled Ndodana to study music under [[Roelof Temmingh]] at the [[Stellenbosch University]] Conservatoire of Music during 1995.
 +
Ndodana-Breen graduated from [[Rhodes University]] with a PhD in Music Composition.
  
 
==Career==
 
==Career==
  
He was Director of the Canadian new music organization Ensemble Noir from 1999 – 2007 touring to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
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Performances of his music have taken place in Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East. He was composer in residence with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. He was Director of the Canadian new music organization Ensemble Noir from 1999 – 2007 touring to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. He returned to South Africa in 2007 after working in Toronto, Canada for a decade.
  
 
==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
 
==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
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* ''[[Themba and Seliba]]'' (1997)
 
* ''[[Themba and Seliba]]'' (1997)
 
 
* ''[[Uhambo]]'' (1998)
 
* ''[[Uhambo]]'' (1998)
opera-oratorio (1998)
 
(Based on Guy Butler’s “Pilgrimage to Dias Cross. Premiere by Cape Town Opera conducted by the composer at Monument Theatre, National Arts Festival Grahamstown 1998)
 
 
 
* ''[[Lives of African Women: Umuntu, Threnody & Dances]]'' (2000)
 
* ''[[Lives of African Women: Umuntu, Threnody & Dances]]'' (2000)
(Soprano, 4 celli, percussion. Libretto by the composer. Premiere by Linda Bukhosini, soprano, Durban 2000. Music Director: Juan Burgess)
 
a chamber monodrama (commissioned by the National Arts Council)
 
 
 
* ''[[Hani]]'' (2010)
 
* ''[[Hani]]'' (2010)
 
* ''[[Winnie, the Opera]]'' (2011)  
 
* ''[[Winnie, the Opera]]'' (2011)  
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==Awards==
 
==Awards==
  
He was awarded the Standard Bank [[Young Artist Award]] for Music in 1998 and selected as one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2011.
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He was awarded the [[Standard Bank Young Artist Award]] for Music in 1998.  This led to a commission for his opera-oratorio ''[[Uhambo]]'' that he conducted at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.  He was selected as one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2011.
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
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Official website. https://www.ndodanabreen.com/bio/
 
Official website. https://www.ndodanabreen.com/bio/
  
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Denise Louw. 'SA’s first Xhosa opera'. [[Mail & Guardian]]. 13 December 1996.
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https://www.up.ac.za/sacomposers/article/2756276/ndodana-bongani
  
 
==Return to==
 
==Return to==

Latest revision as of 14:00, 11 July 2025

Bongani Ndodana-Breen (1975-) Composer.

Biography

Born in Queenstown.

Training

He was educated at St Andrews College, then at Rhodes University, where his teachers included Ishbel Sholto-Douglas. He subsequently was awarded a scholarship by the Foundation for the Creative Arts that allowed him to study composition with Roelof Temmingh at the University of Stellenbosch.

Training

Matriculated at St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown, and in 1994 won a South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) bursary to Rhodes University. A grant from the Foundation for the Creative Arts enabled Ndodana to study music under Roelof Temmingh at the Stellenbosch University Conservatoire of Music during 1995. Ndodana-Breen graduated from Rhodes University with a PhD in Music Composition.

Career

Performances of his music have taken place in Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East. He was composer in residence with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. He was Director of the Canadian new music organization Ensemble Noir from 1999 – 2007 touring to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. He returned to South Africa in 2007 after working in Toronto, Canada for a decade.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Bongani Ndodana-Breen has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music, including:

Awards

He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music in 1998. This led to a commission for his opera-oratorio Uhambo that he conducted at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. He was selected as one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2011.

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Official website. https://www.ndodanabreen.com/bio/

Denise Louw. 'SA’s first Xhosa opera'. Mail & Guardian. 13 December 1996.

https://www.up.ac.za/sacomposers/article/2756276/ndodana-bongani

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