Difference between revisions of "Sibongile Khumalo"

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'''KHUMALO, Sibongile''' (1957-2021) [http://www.sibongilekhumalo.co.za/content/biography.html]. South African singer, musical performer and jazz singer.  
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'''KHUMALO, Sibongile''' (1957-2021) [http://www.sibongilekhumalo.co.za/content/biography.html]. South African singer, musical performer and jazz singer. She was born Sobongile Mngoma but performed under her married name, Sibongile Khumalo.  
  
 
=Biography=
 
=Biography=
  
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Sibongile Mngoma was born in Soweto on Sept. 24, 1957, to Grace and Khabi Mngoma. Her mother was a nurse; her father was a scholar and musician who helped found the music department at the University of Zululand.
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Sibongile Khumalo was a virtuoso vocalist whose ease of motion between opera, jazz and South African popular music made her a symbol of the country’s new social order after the end of Apartheid. She was born in Soweto on Sept. 24, 1957, to Grace and Khabi Mngoma. Her mother was a nurse; her father was a scholar and musician who helped found the music department at the [[University of Zululand]].
  
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Ms. Khumalo’s husband was the actor and director [[Siphiwe Khumalo]], who died in 2005.
  
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Ms. Khumalo’s husband, the actor and director [[Siphiwe Khumalo]], died in 2005.  
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She died after a long illness on 28 January 2021. She was 63.
  
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=Training=
  
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Sibongile began studying at age 8 under a respected local music teacher, [[Emily Motsieloa]], focusing on the violin.
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She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in music from the [[University of Zululand]] and BA Honours from [[University of the Witwatersrand]]. She also obtained a higher diploma in Personnel Management from the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].
  
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=Career=
  
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Sibongile Khumalo, a virtuoso vocalist whose ease of motion between opera, jazz and South African popular music made her a symbol of the country’s new social order after the end of apartheid, died on Jan. 28. She was 63.
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She taught and researched music at the [[University of Zululand]], but she also sought opportunities to reach children who lacked access to major institutions. She held teaching and administrative positions at the [[Fuba Academy of Arts]] in Johannesburg (heading up the music department) and the [[Madimba Institute of African Music]] in Soweto.
  
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Her family wrote on Instagram that the cause was complications of a stroke, and that she had endured a long illness. The post did not say where she died.
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For a time, she was a board member and Arts Centre Coordinator of the Funda Community College.
  
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Fleet and precise across a wide vocal range but particularly elegant in the upper register, Ms. Khumalo’s voice had the hall-filling power of an operatic mezzo-soprano and the directness of a pop singer. After making her debut as Carmen in a production in Durban, she earned wide acclaim for her roles in South African operas and plays, including “UShaka KaSenzangakhona,” “Princess Magogo KaDinuzulu” and “Gorée,” all of which toured internationally.
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In 2003, she was the vice chairman of the [[National Arts Festival]] Committee.
  
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At home she was equally known for her catchy original compositions and her renditions of South African jazz standards like the straight-ahead anthem “Yakhal’ Inkomo,” written by the saxophonist Winston Ngozi, which became a calling card.
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=Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance=
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When the apartheid government fell and Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994, Ms. Khumalo performed at his inauguration. Mandela famously referred to her as the country’s “first lady of song,” and the title stuck.
 
  
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The next year, when South Africa went to the Rugby World Cup — a moment of national reconciliation later immortalized in the film “Invictus” — Ms. Khumalo was invited to perform both her home country’s national anthem and that of its opponent, New Zealand. It was “the one and only time I’ve ever watched a rugby match, at any level, of any kind,” she told a television interviewer in 2017, laughing.
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After making her debut as Carmen in a production of the opera in Durban in 1997, she earned wide acclaim for her roles in South African operas and plays, including ''[[UShaka kaSenzangakhona]]'', ''[[Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu]]'' and ''[[Gorée]]'', all of which toured internationally. She won a Vita ward for her performance as Ma-Bantjies in the opera, ''[[Buchuland]]''.  
  
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In 1996, Sony released her debut album, “Ancient Evenings,” which included a number of originals and loosely adhered to a vocal-driven South African pop style. Over the next two decades she would release a stream of albums, earning four South African Music Awards. For her stage performances, she garnered three Vita Awards.
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She collaborated with the scholar Mzilikazi Khumalo (no relation) to create ''[[Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu]]'', billed as the first Zulu opera, centered on the princess’s own compositions. The production toured to the United States in 2004.  
  
 +
==As singer/songwriter==
  
 +
She was equally known for her catchy original compositions and her renditions of South African jazz standards like the straight-ahead anthem “Yakhal’ Inkomo,” written by the saxophonist Winston Ngozi, which became a calling card.
 +
When the apartheid government fell and Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994, Ms. Khumalo performed at his inauguration. Mandela famously referred to her as the country’s “first lady of song,” and the title stuck.
  
 +
The next year, when South Africa went to the Rugby World Cup, she was invited to perform both her home country’s national anthem and that of its opponent, New Zealand.
  
 +
In 1996, Sony released her debut album, “Ancient Evenings,” which included a number of originals and loosely adhered to a vocal-driven South African pop style. Over the next two decades she would release a stream of albums, earning four South African Music Awards.
  
 +
=Awards=
  
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Won the [[Standard Bank Young Artist Award]] at the [[Grahamstown Festival]] in 1993.
  
 +
She was awarded an Honorary Licentiate in Music from the [[University of South Africa]] ([[UNISA]]).
  
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Sibongile began studying at age 8 under a respected local music teacher, Emily Motsieloa, focusing on the violin. She was heavily influenced by the music of local healers and ministers at the nearby church, as well as the Western classical and pop records her parents played around the house.
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She received honorary doctorates from the [[University of Zululand]], [[Rhodes University]] and the [[University of South Africa]].
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She inherited her father’s passion for education and went on to earn undergraduate degrees from both Zululand and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. She later received honorary doctorates from Zululand, Rhodes University and the University of South Africa.
 
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When Ms. Khumalo was a girl, her father had taken her to see Constance Magogo kaDinuzulu, a Zulu princess and musician known for her prowess as a singer and composer. “My dad made me sit at her feet to listen to her play ugubhu and sing,” Ms. Khumalo wrote in the notes to her self-titled 2005 album, referring to a Zulu stringed instrument. “I thought he was being very unkind to me because all the other children were out in the yard playing.”
 
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But decades later, she drew upon the experience when she collaborated with the scholar Mzilikazi Khumalo (no relation) to create “Princess Magogo KaDinuzulu,” billed as the first Zulu opera, centered on the princess’s own compositions. “It must have been destiny,” she said. “In my professional years the music came back and it began to make sense.”
 
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When “Princess Magogo KaDinuzulu” traveled to the United States in 2004, Anne Midgette reviewed it for The New York Times, praising Ms. Khumalo’s “talent and versatility.” Ten years after South Africa had achieved democratic rule, Ms. Midgette noted, Ms. Khumalo seemed to represent “a symbol of its new culture.”
 
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=Training=
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For her stage performances, she garnered three Vita Awards, including Best Performance in a Leading Role for ''[[Buchuland]]''.
  
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She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in music from the [[University of Zululand]] and BA Honours from [[University of the Witwatersrand]].
 
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=Early career=
 
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She taught at Zululand, but she also sought opportunities to reach children who lacked access to major institutions. She held teaching and administrative positions at the [[Federated Union of Black Artists Academy]] in Johannesburg and the [[Madimba Institute of African Music]] in Soweto.
 
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=Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance=
 
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=Awards=
 
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Won the [[Standard Bank Young Artist Award]] at the [[Grahamstown Festival]] in 1993.
 
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She was awarded an Honorary Licentiate in Music from the [[University of South Africa]] ([[UNISA]]).
 
 
In 2008 she received the [[Order of Ikhamanga]] in silver, among the country’s highest honors for contributions to the arts.
 
In 2008 she received the [[Order of Ikhamanga]] in silver, among the country’s highest honors for contributions to the arts.
  
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== Sources ==
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= Sources =
  
 
''Wikipedia'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibongile_Khumalo]
 
''Wikipedia'' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibongile_Khumalo]
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[[National Arts Festival]] Souvenir Programme, 2003.
  
 
'Sibongile Khumalo, South Africa’s ‘First Lady of Song,’ Dies at 63', ''[[New York Times]]'', 1 February 2021
 
'Sibongile Khumalo, South Africa’s ‘First Lady of Song,’ Dies at 63', ''[[New York Times]]'', 1 February 2021

Latest revision as of 18:18, 12 January 2024

KHUMALO, Sibongile (1957-2021) [1]. South African singer, musical performer and jazz singer. She was born Sobongile Mngoma but performed under her married name, Sibongile Khumalo.

Biography

Sibongile Khumalo was a virtuoso vocalist whose ease of motion between opera, jazz and South African popular music made her a symbol of the country’s new social order after the end of Apartheid. She was born in Soweto on Sept. 24, 1957, to Grace and Khabi Mngoma. Her mother was a nurse; her father was a scholar and musician who helped found the music department at the University of Zululand.

Ms. Khumalo’s husband was the actor and director Siphiwe Khumalo, who died in 2005.

She died after a long illness on 28 January 2021. She was 63.

Training

Sibongile began studying at age 8 under a respected local music teacher, Emily Motsieloa, focusing on the violin. She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in music from the University of Zululand and BA Honours from University of the Witwatersrand. She also obtained a higher diploma in Personnel Management from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Career

She taught and researched music at the University of Zululand, but she also sought opportunities to reach children who lacked access to major institutions. She held teaching and administrative positions at the Fuba Academy of Arts in Johannesburg (heading up the music department) and the Madimba Institute of African Music in Soweto.

For a time, she was a board member and Arts Centre Coordinator of the Funda Community College.

In 2003, she was the vice chairman of the National Arts Festival Committee.

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

After making her debut as Carmen in a production of the opera in Durban in 1997, she earned wide acclaim for her roles in South African operas and plays, including UShaka kaSenzangakhona, Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu and Gorée, all of which toured internationally. She won a Vita ward for her performance as Ma-Bantjies in the opera, Buchuland.

She collaborated with the scholar Mzilikazi Khumalo (no relation) to create Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu, billed as the first Zulu opera, centered on the princess’s own compositions. The production toured to the United States in 2004.

As singer/songwriter

She was equally known for her catchy original compositions and her renditions of South African jazz standards like the straight-ahead anthem “Yakhal’ Inkomo,” written by the saxophonist Winston Ngozi, which became a calling card. When the apartheid government fell and Nelson Mandela became the country’s first democratically elected president in 1994, Ms. Khumalo performed at his inauguration. Mandela famously referred to her as the country’s “first lady of song,” and the title stuck.

The next year, when South Africa went to the Rugby World Cup, she was invited to perform both her home country’s national anthem and that of its opponent, New Zealand.

In 1996, Sony released her debut album, “Ancient Evenings,” which included a number of originals and loosely adhered to a vocal-driven South African pop style. Over the next two decades she would release a stream of albums, earning four South African Music Awards.

Awards

Won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award at the Grahamstown Festival in 1993.

She was awarded an Honorary Licentiate in Music from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

She received honorary doctorates from the University of Zululand, Rhodes University and the University of South Africa.

For her stage performances, she garnered three Vita Awards, including Best Performance in a Leading Role for Buchuland.

In 2008 she received the Order of Ikhamanga in silver, among the country’s highest honors for contributions to the arts.

Sources

Wikipedia [2]

National Arts Festival Souvenir Programme, 2003.

'Sibongile Khumalo, South Africa’s ‘First Lady of Song,’ Dies at 63', New York Times, 1 February 2021

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