The Soweto String Quartet is a string quartet from

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

composed of Reuben Khemese, Makhosini Mnguni, Sandile Khemese and Thami Khemese. Their music is a fusion of the "dance rhythms of

Kwela Kwela is a pennywhistle-based street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. The music h ...

, the syncopated guitars of

Mbaqanga Mbaqanga () is a style of South African music with rural Zulu roots that continues to influence musicians worldwide today. The style originated in the early 1960s. History Historically, laws such as the Land Act of 1913 to the Group Areas Ac ...

, the saxophones and trumpets of swaying African jazz and the voices of people singing in joyous, easy harmony". The Soweto String Quartet is autonomous and independent and has not affiliated with any organisation or institution since its inception. The quartet became a full-time professional outfit in 1992. They performed at President

Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

's inauguration, after which Mandela started recommending them for other jobs. The album ''Zebra Crossing'' peaked at number 16 and ''Renaissance'' peaked at number 29 on the Australian

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...

Discography

* ''Zebra Crossing'' (1994) * ''

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

'' (1996) * ''Millennia'' (1998) * ''Rhythms of Africa'' (1999) * ''Four'' (2001) * ''Our World'' (2003) * ''Soweto String Quartet Plays Gospel'' (2005) * ''Collections'' (2007) * ''A Soweto String Quartet Christmas'' * ''The Essential Soweto String Quartet'' * ''SSQ Speel Afrikaans Treffers Vol. 2'' (2013)

References

External links

*
Soweto String Quartet
at the Contemporary African Music & Arts Archive {{Authority control String quartets South African musical groups Soweto