Nokuthula Ngwenyama (b. 1976), American Violist of Afro-Asian Heritage

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents Violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Cellist Sophie Shao and the Miami Quartet in a concert on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. At the Pennsylvania Convention Center Auditorium, Room 114.

Nokuthula Ngwenyama is an acclaimed American violist and violinist of Zimbabwean-Japanese heritage. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music whose recorded repertoire will soon be enlarged by two forthcoming releases she has completed on the EDI Records label. Her new website is http://www.ngwenyama.com/new/home.html


"Thula", as she is known to her friends, was born in Southern California on June 16, 1976. Her parents divorced when she was quite young, and she was raised in the home of a family friend. Thula's earliest musical instruments were the piano and the violin. She faced resistance at first, as she explains at her original website, http://www.ngwenyama.com/:

"My father, a Ndebele man from Zimbabwe, discouraged me from the start. 'Why are you playing this white man's music?' he would ask. He didn't understand that this kind of music spoke to me in a way not affected by race."

Nokuthual Ngwenyama is profiled at AfriClassical.com