Past Projects

Kamogelo Maraba started playing the cello at the age of eight, under Susan Mouton, and later with Carel Henn. Kamo was a music student at The National School of The Arts (NSA) from 2015-2019 in Johannesburg. In 2016 he began to have music lessons at The Morris Issacson Centre for Music (MICM) with Daliwonga Tshangela, and in 2017 he joined the ARCO Project studying the cello with Peggy Nolan, cellist of The Eblana String Trio. 

Kamo has been involved in many exciting festivals, courses, collaborations and chamber music concerts both in South Africa and the UK. To name but a few - Wakkerstroom, Rand Symphony Orchestra Concerto Festival, East Rand Youth Orchestra, South Africa House (London), and most recently with violist Garth Knox during the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition held at RBC. In addition, Kamo has attended the South African National Youth Orchestra, Pro Corda North Chamber Music Course and Cadenza International Summer School for Strings and Piano, and he is the former principal cellist of The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra (JYO).

Kamo is currently in his 4th year of the BMus Degree at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) studying the cello with Ben Davies. Kamo received a substantial fee scholarship from RBC, and further major funding the ARCO Project, Quartet of Peace (QoP), private donors and a generous fellowship which includes substantial funding from the JPO. Kamo is very grateful for the loan of a cello made by Collin Irving in 1985 on loan from Keith Gibbs.

Kamo is now an accomplished cellist looking to audition for postgraduate courses around the country. He has continued to give back to others, through his involvement in RBC's Learning and Participation groups, and being a teacher on the ARCO Project. 

20-year old Sifiso Mbatha (below) finished Sixth form at The Purcell School. Sifiso only began playing the cello at the age of 13, but showed immense talent for the cello right away. He studied with Daliwonga Tshangela at MICM, and Griff Wadkinl online.

Through ARCO Exchange, Sifiso was invited by the National Youth String Orchestra to attend their Easter Course in the UK in 2019. They were so impressed with him that his airfare and course fees for the summer course were sponsored. It was across these two visits that he was invited to audition for the Purcell School, a specialist music school. 

He was accepted to attend the school, studying under Ben Davies. He made immense progress during his time at the school, and even went on to lead the cello section in the Purcell Symphony Orchestra. He is now completing his A levels at St. John’s College in Johannesburg, and plans to study at Stellenbosch University next year. 

Njabulo Nxumalo is a double bass student from Soweto, South Africa. He first started playing the violin at the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music and in 2015 he was invited to join the ARCO Project, which gave him access to online violin lessons and chamber coaching with staff and students from then Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the UK. ARCO also allowed him to change from the violin to the double bass by providing him with an instrument and online teacher in 2018. 

After three years of online learning, Njabulo was awarded a place to study at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2021. Unfortunately due to covid-related restrictions, he was unable to take his place and travel to the UK. Since then, he has been studying at the University of Stellenbosch since 2021, achieving very high marks in his Advanced Certificate of Music course, and is now preparing to take his exams in June 2024. Njabulo has also been able to work as a freelance player, and was selected as the principal bassist of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Njabulo has just finished auditioning for UK Conservatoires, to start in September 2024. 

Tshegofatso joined the Morris Isaacson Centre of Music at the age of 11, studying under Daliwonga Tshangela, and joined the ARCO Project soon after. 

She showed a natural musicality and a love for performing from our very first concerts. Tshego started showing an interest in rapping and composing her own music at the age of 15.

Through ARCO, she has been able to travel to Cape Town, to perform at the Victoria and Albert Waterfront and Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival twice. She has also received composition masterclasses from Shane Cooper, Midori Jaeger, the HER Ensemble and Bokani Dyer, with more lessons to come from the Chicago Sinfonietta Composers-in-Residence. 

Tshego is in her final year of school at the National School of the Arts, where she was awarded prizes for 'Overall Top Achiever in Music', 'Top Achiever in Music Practical' and 'Top Achiever in Music Theory', as well as the Platinum Award for Orchestral Conducting and a Gold Award in Ensemble. 

Tshego is working towards her university auditions, hoping to study overseas. 

Buhle, 19, joined the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music at the age of 12. As a cellist, she is taught by Daliwonga Tshangela at MICM and received lessons from Griffith Wadkin on Zoom. She attends the Curtis Nkondo School of Specialisation. 

As a cellist, she has participated in ARCO Exchanges to Darling and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival twice. 

Buhle's love of singing was born in the church, and shaped by her Choir Director at Morris Isaacson Centre for Music, the late Bhekinkosi Hlatshwayo. Buhle was encouraged to grow confidence and strength in her incredible voice. 

This was later supplemented by ARCO Voice lessons from Helena Miranda Lopes Correia. Buhle is currently auditioning for Opera schools in South Africa. 

' I love music simply because it's a unique way to tell your story - it's my way of communicating' 

Mbali is from Meadowlands, Soweto, and  started playing the violin at the age of 8. She joined the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music soon after, and studied under Kabelo Monnathebe and Claudia Dehnke through ARCO. 

She has had masterclasses from Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Oliver Wille, Jiafeng Chen and Jan Repko. Through ARCO Exchange, she was able to travel to the UK at the age of 12, to perform at the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition, and spend a week boarding at the Chethams School. 

She contributed so much to the ensembles at MICM and the festivals run by the ARCO Project during her school career. She was also a founding member of the project's Wakanda Book Club, championing African writers.

She was the leader of the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra, attended and performed at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival twice, and was selected to perform as a soloist with the Rand Symphony Orchestra. 

She was awarded full cultural and academic colours by her school, St. Catherine's Convent. Mbali was accepted to study Medicine at the University of Cape Town following her fantastic Matric results. 

She still insists on practising, having violin lessons and playing in the university orchestra. 

'I joined ARCO in 2015 and since then my life has never been the same. Learning music has taught me many invaluable lessons which include working cohesively with others in chamber music, as well as the importance of hard work and unwavering determination in the face of challenges.'