Event information
Singer and songwriter Simphiwe Dana joins the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra for a single concert at the Artscape Opera House, in which her Afro-jazz and soul catalogue is reimagined through full symphonic orchestration. Dana performs alongside her musical director, Tshepo Tsotetsi, and rhythm section, with conductor Brandon Phillips leading the orchestra.
Born in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape and raised in Lusikisiki, Dana released her debut album Zandisile in 2004, winning Best Newcomer and Best Jazz Vocal Album at the South African Music Awards (SAMAs) in 2005. The album reached the international Billboard charts and earned her an AVO Session Basel Award.
Her subsequent albums, The One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street (2006), Kulture Noir (2010), Firebrand (2015), and Bamako (2020), have each contributed to her standing as one of South Africa's most prominent contemporary artists. She has been a regular performer at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz. Dana sings primarily in Xhosa and has drawn on traditional African music, gospel, jazz, and soul across her work.
The programme includes "Inkwekwezi", "Mayine", "Ndimi Iqhawe", and "Mombathise", alongside an a cappella performance of "Ndimemeza."