Viwe Mkizwana at Hugh's Jazz Club

Viwe Siyabonga Mkizwana is an award-winning bass player, composer, arranger,

bandleader, and educator. Mkizwana is an endorsee of Yamaha. He obtained his

National Diploma in Jazz and Popular Music from the Tshwane University of

Technology (2011), a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the University of Pretoria

(2017), and has completed a Master of Music (Performing Arts) degree with

distinction in 2023 at the same institution. Mkizwana is a PhD (Music) student at

University of South Africa.

Mkizwana has released three albums: African Skies (2016), Tributes (2019), and

recently released Black Child (2025). He also contributed original compositions to

the MIAGI and Young Euro Classic Festival’s Classic Meets Jazz collaboration in

Berlin, Germany (2019). His composition Baw’Radi (from the Tributes album) was

released in February 2020 as part of a compilation album, Quiet Corner – Little

Peace Piece, in Tokyo, Japan, for Inpartmain Records.

In 2021, Mkizwana composed a solo double bass piece for virtuoso bassist Leon

Bosch, which received a remarkable review from Art Muse London (African Concert

Series). The piece was premiered on BBC Radio by Leon Bosch. Mkizwana was

also commissioned to orchestrate for the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands) for their

BBC Proms Concert in the United Kingdom in July 2022.

He was selected as one of the composers for the MIAGI Orchestra’s 2024 European

tour. Mkizwana has been a member of the MIAGI Orchestra for 15 years and is the

Orchestra Manager. His orchestral work, Black Child, had its world premiere at the

Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and was subsequently performed at the

Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Emden (Germany), Berlin Konzerthaus (Germany),

and MDW (Vienna).

In December 2024, Mkizwana had the privilege of being invited by UCLA to perform

in Greg Maqoma’s dance piece The Land We Carry, to which he contributed music.

This took place in Los Angeles, California. Recently, the same production has been

staged at Théâtre de la Ville, Paris (2025). Mkizwana had the privilege to direct

music for a Standard Bank commission to Greg Maqoma: Sophiatown Reimagined

(A Jazz and Dance Revue). In 2026 Mkizwana had the privilege of contributing his

orchestration to the MIAGI orchestra’s debut at the Alte Oper Festival in Frankfurt,

Germany.

Mkizwana’s composition, To the Ones We Love, was selected from among global

submissions to feature in the Amazon Studio series Bosch, through Ossia Records

in Los Angeles, California.

Mkizwana has produced several albums, including co-producing McCoy Mrubata’s

album Strings Attached. His passion for music has taken him across South Africa

and around the globe. He has performed in prestigious venues such as Amsterdam

(The Royal Concertgebouw), Germany (Berlin Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie),

Belgium (BOZAR), and Sweden (King’s Castle). Through his travels, he has played

alongside celebrated musicians such as Nils Landgren (Sweden), Rodolfo Maderos

(Argentina), Gilberto Gil (Brazil), Anders Paulson (Sweden), and Camille Favre-Bulle

(France). He has also collaborated with Grammy-nominated John Fresk and

Grammy winner Wouter Kellerman.

Within the South African jazz arena, Mkizwana has worked with notable artists such

as McCoy Mrubata, Karen Devroop, Paul Hanmer, Nduduzo Makhathini, Marcus

Wyatt, Thandi Ntuli, Nomfundo Xaluva, Hugh Masekela, Roland Moses, Sibongile

Khumalo, Andile Yenana, Mageshen Naidoo, Zoe Modiga, Bokani Dyer, Peter Auret,

Afrika Mkhize, Sibisiso Mashiloane, Linda Sikhakhane, Sisonke Xonti, Yonela

Mnana, Tlale Mkene, Mthunzi Mvubu, Khaya Mahlangu, and Sidney Mavundla

amongst many others across the South African music scene.

Viwe Mkizwana’s achievements include two South African Music Awards (SAMA)

nominations and a Mzantsi Jazz Awards for Best Song (2020). In 2023, he won two

Naledi Theatre Awards for the Hlakanyana theatre production: Best Musical Director

and Best Musical Score. He is also a member of the acclaimed Scullery Quintet,

which received two awards at the 2026 KykNET Fiëstas for Best Production and

Best Performance, and also won two awards at the Aardklop National Arts Festival.

Mkizwana has recently written an African violin concerto and a double bass

concerto, amongst many of his orchestral works, contributing to the growth of the

African classical repertoire.

Doors open at 18:00

The show begins promptly at 19:30

Please refer to our website for FAQ's.

www.hughs.co.za

Tickets are non-refundable.