Soweto String Quartet

Today's Soweto String Quartet, comprising the three Khemese brothers and friend, Makhosini Mnguni, grew out of a Khemese family musical conspiracy. The Khemese children had no choice but to flourish in their artistry, in spite of the political oppression that held them down. Sons of a virtuoso conductor father and choral singer mother, Sandile and Reuben were naturally drawn into their uncle's township music school. There they soon switched from choral singing to playing violins for the Soweto Symphony Orchestra. Between 1980 and 1986, Sandile pursued a music scholarship in England, which included four years at the Royal North College of Music in Manchester, after which he returned to the township to teach his brothers everything he had learned. He was able to obtain a job teaching the traditional African marimba instrument at the Madimba School of Music. After three years of sacrificing his violin playing, Sandile, his brothers and Makhosini decided it was time to regroup. For ten years, the Quartet weathered the criticisms of peers who taunted them for playing "funny European instruments".

"Our agenda included encouraging the youth to master these so-called Eurocentric instruments," says Sandile, "as well as improving the standard and appreciation of classical music in the townships."

Since then, and since the miraculous birth of true democracy in their native South Africa, the Quartet has intensified its experimental intermixing of musical styles and instrumentation--bringing guitars, keyboards and percussion into a musical exploration of the inner dimensions of their cross-cultural experience. With an eclectic mix of African rhythms and intonations, Zebra Crossing presents an aesthetic landscape that knows no cultural, temporal or geographical barriers.

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