Nokuthula Ngwenyama, viola
Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s appearances as a soloist and chamber musician garner great attention, as she “provides solidly shaped music of bold, mesmerizing character (The Gramophone).” Ms. Ngwenyama came to international attention when she won the Primrose Competition and Young Concert Artists International Auditions – both at age 17. In 1997 she was recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Ms. Ngwenyama has appeared with the Atlanta, Baltimore, National and Indianapolis Symphonies. She has performed at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Louvre, the Ford Center in Toronto, the Maison de Radio France, and the White House. She frequently collaborates with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has worked with the Borromeo, Chilingirian, Miami, Orion and St. Lawrence Quartets. Her recordings on EDI have been met with critical acclaim. “Thula” was featured on the Emmy-nominated Musical Encounter Series with host and cellist Lynn Harrell and was a guest on CBS Sunday Morning hosted by Eugenia Zukerman. A dedicated advocate for the arts, she has testified before Congress on behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts. Born in California of Zimbabwean-Japanese parentage, Ms. Ngwenyama graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1996. She attended the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris as a Fulbright scholar, and received a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard University. Ngwenyama is Executive and Artistic Director of the Primrose International Viola Competition.
