Thokozani Ndumiso Mhlambi, a musician, songwriter, and cultural pioneer, was born in South Africa on September 18, 1984. Mhlambi became well-known for his concert-lecture performances, which he began doing in 2016 at the Mazisi Kunene Museum in Durban. For this performance, in 2018, he was nominated for the National Institute for Humanities and Social Science Creative Prize. Mhlambi's "Amakholwa" series, a project to celebrate the accomplishments of early African composers, was included on AfroPunk's digital platforms that same year.
Mhlambi has created his own distinctive presentations that blend engaging performances with critical thought. He frequently does solo concerts on his baroque cello and vocals on stage. He frequently works with orchestras and groups in North America and Europe.
Mhlambi is a cultural thinker who has a strong sense of community and how the local and global connect. He builds artistic visions using an internationalist methodology, which is inspired by the ground-breaking work of Pan-African philosophers like CLR James, WEB DuBois, HIE Dhlomo, and Paulo Freire.
Mhlambi's creative influences come from those who created the tradition of African anthems, such as Reuben Caluza, Ntsikana, John Knox Bokwe, and Enoch Sontonga, to name a few. These individuals modernized tradition in the same way that the Ancient Greeks did by creating an ethos of mousike.
He draws inspiration from folk musics from throughout the world to develop his own unique style.
Mhlambi was born in Madadeni, KwaZulu-Natal where was raised by his paternal grandparents.
Mhlambi attended school in KwaZulu-Natal before transferring to the University of Cape Town in 2003 to pursue his musical studies there. He had the opportunity to pursue studies in Dalcroze Eurythmics, Folk Music, and Early Music at the Royal College of Music (KMH) in Stockholm in 2005. Mhlambi's superb attention to the physique and varied approach to creativity show this well. He earned his Mphil in Public Culture in 2009 from the University of Cape Town's Centre for African Studies. In 2015, he attained a Phd in music at the same university.
Awards, Grants & Fellowships
Artist Fellowship at African Multiple Clusters, University of Bayreuth, Germany, 2022-2023
Artistic Residency at Cite International des Arts in Paris, 2020
Artist in-Residency at the Mazisi Kunene Manuscript Museum (Durban), as part of a AW Mellon Foundation initiative, 2019
Goethe Institute’s Group Project Space (GPS) Award, South Africa, 2018.
Shortlisted for the Best Creative Collection National Institute for Humanities and Social Science (NIHSS), 2018.
National Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Innovation, 2016
Sonologia: sound studies forum in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016.
Crossings Artistic Residency for composers, choreographers, lighting-designers, Institut Francais, Johannesburg, 2010
Winner of the African Studies Prize at the University of Cape Town, in 2009.
Brown Institute for Advanced Studies (BIARI), Brown University, in Rhode Island, USA, 2009