SIBONGILE KHUMALO, mezzo-soprano, born 24 September 1957 in Soweto
Through the guidance of her father, professor of music Khabi Mngoma, Sibongile Khumalo began her musical journey at the age of eight under Emily Motsieloa. She studied violin, singing, drama and dance. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Zululand, a BA Honours and a Higher Diploma in Personnel Management from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has taught and researched music at the University of Zululand, FUBA Academy and at the Madimba Institute of African Music (based at the Funda Centre).
Multi-talented, soulful and dynamic, Sibongile Khumalo has enchanted diverse audiences all over South Africa and beyond. She interprets with integrity and poise a variety of musical genres - from traditional South African and European sounds, jazzy melodies, and classical music, she glides from world to world with specifically South African flavours.
Khumalo’s immense musical capacity launched her into the limelight when she won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award at the Grahamstown Festival in 1993. She has since performed with numerous celebrated groups and artists and has graced a variety of honoured occasions, amongst them President Nelson Mandela's 75th Birthday and 1994 inauguration. She also led the South African and New Zealand National anthems at the Rugby World Cup finals in 1995.
Khumalo has treated South Africans to numerous critically acclaimed performances, most notably: The 3 Faces of Sibongile Khumalo (Kippies, Johannesburg 1992); Sibongile Khumalo in Concert (Grahamstown Festival, Market Theatre - Johannesburg, and Baxter Theatre - Cape Town 1993); performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Johannesburg and Cape Town 1994 and 1995); the Brahms Alto Rhapsody (Johannesburg City Hall 1994 and Durban City Hall 1996); Sisters in Synch with Aviva Pelham (Civic Theatre - Johannesburg and Grahamstown Festival 1994); Rhythms of Africa with the National Symphony Orchestra (Sun City, Durban and Johannesburg 1994); Handel's Messiah with Lord Yehudi Menuhin (Cape Town and Johannesburg 1995); Sibongile Khumalo and Friends (Johannesburg 1995). She has also had concerts in France (with conductor Hubert Soudant); Egypt (with the National Symphony Orchestra); and London (during Africa '95 with the Brodsky Quartet and at the SAA 50th Anniversary Celebrations at the South African High Commission).
She has also performed in musicals: Marabi; Baby Come Duze; Once on This Island; and Goree (which toured Europe and the USA).
Ranking high on her list of musical highlights is Khumalo's debut album, Ancient Evenings - a magical journey through the rich tapestry of South African music culture; her critically acclaimed operatic debut as Carmen (Bizet) in Durban, CD and television recordings of Mzilikazi Khumalo's uShaka ka Senzangakhona, performing at the Two Nations Celebrate concert honouring President Mandela (Royal Albert Hall, London), and the SAA/Sibongile Khumalo national tour. During April 1997, Sibongile was the mezzo-soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem under the baton of Sir David Willcocks, during the South African tour of the London Bach Choir.
Through her music, Sibongile Khumalo shares the spice, wisdom, and wealth of experience inherited from her family and community.
Khumalo was the first person to sing the title role of Princess Magogo in the first African opera Princess Magogo ka Dinuzulu, singing the solo with dignity and an aura of royalty and power accompanied by authority. Some believe that she has one of the greatest African mezzo-soprano voices of all time, saying that her lower note are splendid and her higher notes are like those of dramatic soprano.
