Gregory Vuyani Maqoma became interested in dance in the late 1980s as a means to escape the growing political tensions in Soweto, South Africa, where he was born. He started his formal dance training in 1990 at Moving into Dance, where he later became the Associate Artistic Director in 2002. He founded Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT) in 1999 while undertaking a scholarship at the Performing Arts Research and Training School (PARTS) in Belgium, under the direction of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Maqoma has established himself as an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director. 

In 2002, Maqoma received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for dance and was a finalist in the Daimler Chrysler Choreography Award. He was a finalist in the Rolex Mentorship Programme in 2003. Several works in his repertoire have won him accolades and international acclaim, including the Tunkie Award for Leadership in Dance (2012) and a “Bessie”, New York City’s premier dance award, for Exit/Exist for original music composition (2014). He served as a nominator in the 2016–17 Rolex Arts Initiative as well as curating the 2017 Main Dance Programme for the National Arts Festival.

The French government honored Maqoma with the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres (Knight of the Arts & Literature) Award in 2017. The following year, 2018, Maqoma collaborated with William Kentridge as a choreographer and performer in The Head and the Load, an opera which premiered at the Tate Modern Gallery in London and is still touring Europe and the United States.

Maqoma collaborated with Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah in the production Tree, produced by Manchester International Festival and the Young Vic (2018). In 2020, Maqoma was honored to deliver the prestigious International Dance Day message under the auspices of the International Theatre Institute and UNESCO. 

Recently he was commissioned by Ballet de Lyon to create The Valley of Human Sounds and by Ballet Black to create Black Sun.  Maqoma wrote and directed his first musical in 2022,  Third World Express, in collaboration with Shadrack Bokaba, which premiered at the Mandela at Joburg Theatre. Shortly after he choreographed for another new musical, Mandela, directed by Schele Williams with music created by Greg and Shaun Borowsky, produced by the Young Vic in London. ZO!Mute, a new double with Vincent Mantsoe, premiered at the Lesedi at Joburg Theatre in February 2023. In 2023 Maqoma also received the revered Affluence Award. Maqoma celebrates his fiftieth birthday in 2023 and he has curated a number of legacy projects that he will reveal as the year progresses.

Thuthuka Sibisi is a composer and musician based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His musical career began at a young age at the world-renowned Drakensberg Boy’s Choir School. Here, his passion for music was nurtured. While studying music he also had interest in physical theatre and movement, learning alongside Sam Prigge and Estelle Olivier. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Stellenbosch University in 2011. Later he completed his MA in Performance Making at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.

Sibisi has toured extensively, performing throughout South Africa as well as Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He toured as Musical Director of Philip Miller’s opera Between A Rock and A Hard Place (premier, Stockholm) in collaboration with the Cape Town Opera. Further, he was Associate Conductor and Chorus Master for Bongani Ndonana-Breen’s oratoria Credo, which was written to commemorate the 140th anniversary of UNISA’s founding. Other engagements include Chorus Master for UCT Opera School: Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims and Four: 30 - South African Operas. For Cape Town Opera’s 2017–18 season of Vliegendende Hollaânder, he served as Associate Director.

Sibisi has fostered an interest in visual art in addition to music. He has collaborated with multiple visual artists including Johannesburg-based photographer and sculptor Jake Singer on Joburg City Hustle (2015) and Intersections To This City (2014), presented at Sustainable Empires (Venice, Italy) and Los Angeles Centre for Digital Art (USA). Other exhibition work includes the performance installation Extracts from The Underground (2013), presented in collaboration with Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (RSA). This installation was later presented at Wits Art Museum in 2014 as part of The Migrant Journey Series. In 2016, a sound and image installation, The African Choir 1891 Re-imagined, was presented as part of the Black Chronicles Archive Laboratory at Autograph ABP (London), University of Johannesburg’s VIAD FADA (Johannesburg, RSA), Iziko South African Museum (Cape Town, RSA), and The Apartheid Museum (Johannesburg, RSA), curated by Reneé Mussai.

Sibisi is a collaborative composer and musician working as Musical Director to Philip Miller’s Pulling Numbers (premier China) and performed as Musical Director for Ciné-Concert presented as part of Notes Toward a Model Opera by William Kentridge. In 2016, Sibisi made his Italian debut as Music Director and co-composer for William Kentridge’s Triumphs and Laments presented in Rome, Italy. Other projects include a commission by Cape Town Opera for Musiquées Sacrée d’Afrique et d’Europe at Festival International d’Aix-en-Provence (France). Sibisi has also collaborated with Philip Miller and William Kentridge as both Musical Director and co-composer for The Head and The Load, which premiered in 2018 at London’s The Tate Modern (UK) and subsequently toured to the Park Avenue Armory (NYC), Holland Festival (Netherlands), and the Ruhrtriennale (Germany).

Sibisi is a recipient of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans (2017, RSA), an Ampersand Foundation Fellow (2018, NYC), an American Academy in Berlin resident (2019, Germany), a Bushwick Center resident (2019, NYC), a Goethe Institut resident fellow (2019, Germany), and a Performa Curatorial Fellow (2019, NYC).

Most recently, Sibisi co-created Broken Chord alongside choreographer and dancer Gregory Maqoma.

Tshegofatso Khunwane (performer) is a vocal artist and African percussionist. He completed his National Diploma at the Tshwane University of Technology in the Vocal Arts Department and his Advanced Diploma in Performing Arts (Music) at the Tshwane University of Technology. In 2018 he performed as part of the chorus in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Breytenbach Theatre, directed by P. du Toit with musical direction by T. Zungu. In the same year, he played African percussion in the dance season at the Breytenbach Theatre. Tshegofatso was part of the World Choir Games—the two respective choirs he represented came in 2nd place. In 2019, Tshegofatso was part of the chorus that sang at Monte Casino for Opera Jewels directed by Kutlwano Masote. Tshegofatso played African percussion and was a vocalist for the dance production Lekgoba, directed by L.J Makhele at the Dance Umbrella at the State Theatre. He performed at the TUT Opera Gala (chorus member), conducted by T. Zungu and held at the Linder auditorium. Tshegofatso also played percussion at the TUT dance season 2019. In 2021 Tshegofatso was a chorus member in the TUT Vocal Art in Song production featuring compositions by Mozart, Rossini, Moerane, Marivate, and Izitibili. He was also a vocalist and percussionist for Lekgoba at the State Theatre for the Kucheza Afrika Festival 2021. 

Tshegofatso has worked with Gregory Maqoma, Thuthuka Sibisi, and Mhlaba Buthelezi on Broken Chord. He continues to be part of the quartet, touring Broken Chord in Spain (Seville, Barcelona, and Madrid) in 2021 and Austria in 2022. In 2022 he was also part of Mohile music and events, which showcased cultural exchange in India (Mumbai and new Delhi). Tshegofatso was also part of the Kucheza Afrika festival, performing as vocalist and percussionist for the piece Internal by Sibonelo Mqunu.

Born and bred in the Ekukhuleni, in the East Rand of Johannesburg, Nokuthula Magubane (performer), who goes by Thuli M professionally, is a Wits BMus (Hon) graduate who majored in classical vocal performance as a soprano and has a passion for classical music and the arts.

Her love for music started years before she started school, probably at 3 or 4 years old, when she would hear her parents play Vul'indlela by the late great musical icon Brenda Fassie. “My mother tells me that whenever the song was played, I’d lie flat on the floor and sing my little heart out, as if I knew what the song was about, except, instead of singing it like a groove—like the song actually was—I emoted it as a really sad and heartbreaking song. I suppose the signs of loving theatre came early too!" Thuli M recalls.

Throughout her degree, she worked with vocal tutor Eugenie Chopin, under whom she presented her final year recital in November 2019.

Thuli M has collaborated with William Kentridge, performing in his workThe Head and the Load. She has toured with the production at New York's Park Avenue Armory, The Tate Modern Museum in London, Germany's Ruhr Festival, and the Holland Arts festival in Amsterdam.

Thuli M is also part of the Musorelief project, headed by Phillip Miller, which aimed to keep artists going during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project breaths new life into a collection of works by South African choral composer Ruben T. Caluza and has released an album called Caluza The B-Side.

Thuli is also currently part of Phillip Miller’s opera GLOW: The life and times of the gay activist Simon Nkoli, where she plays the role of the charismatic Dr. Beverly Ditsie, a longtime friend of the main character, Simon.

In 2022, Thuli M had her much-anticipated opera debut as Zerlina in the opera Don Giovanni, presented by The Joburg Theatre in South Africa.

She received her licentiate from UNISA in 2022 and, as a performer at heart, she hopes to grow vocally and theatrically and perform on all the stages the world has to offer.

Taking another step into the world of theatre, Thuli M performs in Broken Chord, a production that explores the story of the first African choir that traveled to London, from South Africa. The work is a collaboration between by Gregory Vuyani Maqoma and Thuthuka Sibisi. The production enjoyed two shows in March 2023 at London’s Sadlers Wells theatre.

With hopes of one day creating her own work to be shown on the world’s stages, Thuli M continues to hone her talents and work towards musical and performance excellence.

Luvo Rasemeni (performer) was born in the Eastern Cape, Queenstown, in a small township called Ezibeleni. Vocally, he is a Bass/Baritone. His passion for music began in high school at the Kwa-komani Comprehensive school under Mrs. MP Mfundisi. He was also a part of the Tirisano Nation Youth Choir, which was formed in 2004 and performed at the Choir Olympics in Bremen, Germany. 

In 2007, Rasemeni joined Isango Ensemble Theatre Company under Musical Director Mandisi Dyantyis. He toured with the company to London's West End in addition to Australia, Asia, Europe, and America. 

Rasemeni has performed with Isango Ensemble in The Magic Flute - Papageno, Aesop Fables - Aesop, A Mid-Summer Night's Dream - Theseus, La Boheme – Colline (Xolile), Carmen - Zuniga, Man of Good Hope – Zena, and Noyes Fludde - Chronies. Film Credits: La Boheme as Xolile.

In 2013, Rasemeni joined The Cape Town Opera Company as an ad hoc member and toured with the production Porgy and Bess to Bordeaux, France, Barcelona, and Madrid. In 2016, he performed in The Magic Flute as Papageno as part of Cape Town Opera's Outreach Programme. In 2017, Luvo participated in Cape Town Opera’s production of Tiger Bay The Musical, presented in partnership with the Wales Millenium Centre. He sang the role of Fezile. 

Recently, Rasemeni toured with Tiger Bay The Musical in Cardiff, Wales, again performing the role of Fezile. Luvo performed in Porgy and Bess as “Jake” in South Korea in 2018 and in Don Pasquale as Don Pasquale, which recently toured in Germany in many cities, including Selb, Munich, and Dresden. Rasemeni also played the role of The Baron de Pictordu in Capetown Opera's production of Cinderella in 2023.

Avuya Ngcaweni (performer) is a 26-year-old young lady from Durban, South Africa. She started singing opera and choral music in high school in 2010; her potential was discovered in 2011. Avuya started entering school competitions as a soloist in 2013. Upon winning second place, she knew she wanted to pursue singing as a career. During a gap year in 2015 after completing high school, Avuya auditioned for Ubuntu The Opera and was accepted. While in the middle of the production, she entered the Arts and Culture competition and won first place. After being part of an opera and having won a competition, Avuya was more than convinced that this was her calling; she applied at University of KwaZulu Natal and was accepted in 2016. During her first year she finished first place in the Italian First-Year Competition, and soon after that she was selected as the only first-year student to perform with six other exiting students in a lunch hour concert hosted by KwaZulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra. Avuya also got a major role in a production of Oklahoma—a collaboration between University of KwaZulu Natal and Southern Methodist University. In 2017 Avuya auditioned and was accepted into KZN Young performers, which was held at the Playhouse in Durban. Following this performance was the opera production Cosi Fan Tutte, where she played the role of Fiordiligi at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

In 2018, when she was doing her final year, Avuya received a rare opportunity to perform twice in one symphony season of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the lead role (Mkabayi) in a symphonic fantasy called “uMkabayi fantasy” by Warren Bessey and then performed a solo piece a week after that. After completing her honors degree, Avuya applied for masters and was accepted at Southern Methodist University. She applied for the NATS competition in 2020 and finished third place. She won the audience prize in the MIOpera competition in December. 

Recently she performed in a school opera production of The Crucible in the role of Ann Putnum. Avuya was part of The Dallas Opera education program doing L’Elisir d’Amore, which started in August 2021–May 2022. She is currently performing the role of Suor Angelica and looks forward to continuing to perform on stage and in competitions. 

Peerless interpreters of both early and new music, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street has redefined the realm of 21st-century vocal music, breaking new ground with artistry described as “blazing with vigour… a choir from heaven” (The Times, London). This premier professional ensemble can be heard live, online, on GRAMMY-nominated recordings, and in performances described as “thrilling” (The New Yorker), “musically top-notch” (The Wall Street Journal), and “simply superb” (The New York Times). 

Recent season highlights include Trinity’s production of Considering Matthew Shepard, Handel’s Theodora at Caramoor, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields at Carnegie Hall, Tyshawn Sorey’s Monochromatic Light at the Park Ave Armory, Notes from Ukraine at Carnegie Hall, Bach cantatas at Salle Bourgie in Montreal, and collaborations with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the American Modern Opera Company. The Choir has also collaborated on and recorded several Pulitzer Prize-winning works, including Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone, Ellen Reid’s prism, and Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields.