Ubuntu Ensemble Musicians

- All
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Double Bass
- Piano
- Flute
Pieter Schoeman
Born in South Africa, Pieter made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning numerous competitions including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in the US. In 1987 he was offered the Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman, who recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia [...]
André Swanepoel
Johannesburg-born André Swanepoel enjoys a diverse musical life as a chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. Chamber Music is integral to his activities as Principal Second Violin of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, and has resulted in performances at international venues such as the Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress in Washington DC, the Bozar in Brussels, and the Tonhalle in Zurich. Other chamber music highlights include recent concerts at the Killkenny Arts Festival and the Ryedale, City [...]
Sarah Oates
Sarah Oates enjoys a varied career combining chamber music, orchestral leading and teaching. As the associate concertmaster of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London she has performed regularly in the great concert halls and around the world. She is a sought-after guest concertmaster with other world class orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Opera House of Brussels, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Sarah has recently been appointed first concertmaster of the Dutch National Ballet Orchestra in [...]
David Juritz
David Juritz was born in Cape Town, South Africa and began learning the violin at the age of five with Noel Travers. After winning a scholarship from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, came to London to study at the Royal College of Music with Hugh Bean and Jaroslav Vanecek. During his time at the RCM he won all the major prizes for violin including the college’s highest award, the Tagore Gold Medal. From 1991 to 2010 [...]
Claudia Dehnke
South African-born Claudia Dehnke is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where she obtained an MA with distinction, studying with Tomotada Soh and Nicole Wilson, having previously studied with Jan Repko, Oliver Wille and Stephan Picard. She has received masterclasses from Gyorgy Pauk, Phillipe Graffin, Jana Kuss, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, amongst others. Claudia has performed as a soloist in with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the recipient of the Leverhulme Trust Scholarship and [...]
Louise Lansdown
Louise Lansdown was appointed Head of Strings at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2012, after holding the position of Senior Lecturer in the School of Strings at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from 2001-2012. Louise is the founder of the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition and Festival, launched at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in October 2014 as well as the founder and President of the British Viola Society. She is on the council of the European String [...]
Rudi De Groote
Born in 1974, Rudi De Groote made his concerto debut at the age of 17 with the Cape Town Philharmonic whilst studying under Magdalena Roux at the University of Stellenbosch, and soon after won scholarships to study in London at the Royal College of Music and in Glasgow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. During this time he won all the performance and chamber music prizes and toured South Africa as soloist, performing Beethoven’s Triple’ concerto. During his time as [...]
Elliot Bailey
Elliott regularly plays with the Chineke! Orchestra in international tours and festivals broadcast on TV and radio including the BBC Proms and around Europe. He also plays in mainstream TV recording sessions alongside musicians from the LSO, London Sinfonietta and Aurora Orchestra as well as having recorded with the London Mozart Players. A recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Elliott won the chamber music scholarship and his string quartet take part in festivals and recitals across the UK. [...]
Rosie Biss
In addition to her role of Principal cello of Welsh National Opera, Rosie enjoys a busy and varied career as chamber musician, soloist, guest principal, and teacher. As recitalist and former member of the Zehetmair quartet and trio, the European Music Project and the Scottish Ensemble, Rosie has played throughout Europe and America’s concert halls, broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, WDR 3 and performed at major music festivals including Edinburgh, Aspen, Verbier and Schleswig-Holstein. Busy though the WNO [...]
Leon Bosch
Leon Bosch conducts chamber and symphonic ensembles around the world and is one of the few double bass players to direct concertos from the instrument. Having worked with the finest conductors for 30 years as a member of groups such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Philharmonia and Hallé, he learnt the repertoire and conductor’s craft from inside the orchestra, and finally made the transition to the podium in 2015, when he left Academy of St Martin [...]
Tessa Uys
Born in Cape Town into an exceptionally musical and theatrical family Tessa Uys is one of South Africa's most distinguished concert pianists. Aged 7, she gave her first public performance and made her concerto debut at 13 with the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra conducted by David Tidboald. At 16, whilst still at school, she won a Royals Schools Associated Board Scholarship and continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied with Gordon Green. Here [...]
Wilmien van Rensberg
Wilmien previously studied with Professor Jack de Wet in South Africa from 2010 and has recently completed her undergraduate degree as a pupil of Professor Pieter Schoeman at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Since her solo debut at nine years old with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, she has gone on to perform with orchestras all over her home country. In 2006 she performed with the Italian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Winter Olympics stadium in Turin at [...]
Gary Pomeroy
Born and raised in Durban, South Africa, Gary took inspiration from his parents who busked country music at flea markets on the weekend, and started violin lessons aged five. He took to the viola as a teenager and was lucky enough to become an ABRSM International Scholar at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK. There he enjoyed five years of guidance in solo and chamber music. He is the violist of the Heath Quartet who have been [...]
Bridget Wilson
Bridget began her musical journey in South Africa, where she studied flute with Rose McArthur, John Hinch and Paul Bagshaw. She also benefited from masterclasses with Susan Milan, Shigenori Kudo, Trevor Wye, and William Bennett (from whom she later took private lessons in the UK). Subsequent to the completion of her BMus (Hon), Bridget was appointed as principal flute of the National Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, followed by an appointment as Principal Piccolo and Sub-Principal Flute with the Cape [...]
Aristide du Plessis
Aristide du Plessis has established a reputation as one of South Africa’s leading cellists, making regular appearances on national television and radio, both as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed in some of the world's most renowned concert halls ranging from the Zürich Tonhalle and Vienna Musikverein to the Herkulessaal in Munich, Wiener Konzerthaus and the Berliner Philharmonie. Having won numerous prizes in competitions such as the Kiwanis Chamber Music Prize (Switzerland), ATKV Musiq, FMR/Nussbaum, Stellenbosch National Ensemble [...]