Themba and pianist Paul McKenzie will present a varied programme of songs and arias. More info to follow soon.

We begin our 2024 residency at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester with music by Mason, Holst and Stanford.

Step into a magical world in Grace-Evangeline Mason’s The Imagined Forest, an enchanting musical picture of a wild woodland filled with colour, light and beauty. The mystical tones continue in Holst’s glorious The Hymn of Jesus, a call to join the joyful divine dance and a unique response to the suffering of the First World War.

Then comes some of Charles Villiers Stanford’s finest and most compelling music in the Stabat Mater. A vivid musical depiction of the Passion and the sorrows of Mary, the intensity and drama of the opening subsides into ethereal beauty at the close, telling of the hope of redemption and life in paradise.

Themba will be performing the baritone solos in the Stabat Mater.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, den sie sollen getrösstet werden – Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Even without the heart-stopping music those opening words of the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem must surely resonate with everyone - those with religious beliefs and those with none. This moving and monumental piece proved a turning point in the composer’s already burgeoning career. Brahms wrote the words himself using the Lutheran Bible rather than the Catholic Latin mass, and the human concern for the living as well as the dead shines through every movement.
 
Paragon Singers look forward to presenting this pinnacle of the Romantic choral canon in a small-scale chamber style, with the four hand piano accompaniment with pianists Ikuko Inoguchi and Sally Goodworth, soprano Margaret Lingas and conducted by Sarah Latto. Themba will be the baritone soloist.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

300 years after its first performance, Bach’s St John Passion remains as powerful and profound as it must have been in 1724. The human drama of the story - Pilate’s dilemma, Peter’s denial - plus the emotion of the characters makes this a compelling pilgrimage, whatever your belief. And then there is the supreme beauty of Bach’s music, heightened by the colours and poignancy of the period instruments - not least the majestic acceptance of ‘Es ist vollbracht’ (It is accomplished).

Themba will sing the part of Jesus in this performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall with Ex Cathedra Choir & Baroque Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore.

Sung in German with English surtitles.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Schubert’s fifth Mass setting is arguably his most songful and inventive. His integration of the soloists and chorus, mastery of fluid harmonies, and idiomatic treatment of the orchestra’s woodwind section give the Mass in A flat major a symphonic quality which would later inspire Bruckner. Schubert regarded it as the finest of his six Latin Mass settings.

Themba will be singing the bass solos for this concert with the West London Chorus and Orchestra British Sinfonietta, conducted by Hilary Campbell.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

J S Bach’s moving account of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus: a timeless depiction of fear, agony and grief, human strength and weakness, and the terrifying power of a baying mob. 

Exactly three hundred years after its first performance in Leipzig, this timeless tour de force is performed in the ancient church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate in the heart of the City, with outstanding soloists and period instruments.

Themba will be singing the part of Christus for the this performance with The London City Choir and The Hanover Band, directed by Mark Williams.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will present a programme of songs by composer Tim Lole, as well as other favourites.

This is a FREE event. For more info click here

Themba will present an all South African programme for his first performance at Brunel.

This concert will include excerpts from Robert Fokkens’ operatic monodrama Bhekizizwe and songs by Mokale Koapeng.

Themba will perform with Sally Goodworth on piano and Sam Cave on guitar.

This is a FREE event! For more info click here.

Join the University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus as they present two halves of wonderful, yet contemplative music.  Berlioz's epic Symphonie Fantastique describes episodes in the life of an artist - a psychological thriller transformed into a symphony. In contrast, Matthew Coleridge’s deeply moving Requiem for choir, soloists and orchestra offers you a chance to enjoy a moment of calm reflection.

Themba will be singing the baritone solos in the Requiem.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Free to Choose is an operatic financial sci-fi (fi-fi), narrated by Milton Friedman, in which we encounter the credit banking system as a time travelling machine. In 1997, in post economic crash Hong Kong, Philip Tose, ex-race car driver and CEO of an insolvent company travels to the future to borrow a lump sum from his older self to rescue his business. Hong Kong in 2047 turns out not to be very different from the Hong Kong of “One Country, Two systems”: centralisation has not eradicated nepotism, and activism has become rating activism: young people advocating for free time travel for everyone, including the untrustworthy and the discredited of a corrupt credit system. The piece was produced in collaboration with Rudá Babau and Waste Paper Opera (Klara Kofen, James Oldham, Gary Zhexi Zhang, Anna Palmer)

Having featured on the original soundtrack, Themba will be singing live for this special performance at Medialab Matadero.

For more info click here.

A collaboration between Bahar Noorizadeh, Rudá Babau and Waste Paper Opera, Free to Choose is an operatic financial sci-fi (fi-fi), narrated by Milton Friedman, in which we encounter the credit banking system as a time travelling machine.

Having featured on the original soundtrack, Themba will be performing live for this special screening at the iconic Iklectik venue in London.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

One of London’s best kept secrets, DEBUT at Brunel Museum offers magnetic performances, time to chat to your favourite musicians and the chance to discover Brunel Museum’s historic Grade II* listed Thames Tunnel Shaft.

Launched in 2017, DEBUT have hosted over 100 sold out shows, showcasing 200+ top level musicians through our intimate and fun Secret Concerts.

For more info and tickets click here

Themba will be presenting an all-South African programme featuring music by composers Mokale Koapeng and Robert Fokkens. For more info click here.

At the pre-party to end all pre-parties in Liverpool on Tuesday 9 May, 18.00; ENO will be performing a 1-hour concert of Eurovision hits at the EuroFestival.

Taking place from 1-14 May, EuroFestival, is a first for a Eurovision host city, as it presents 24 commissions – 19 of which are collaborative projects between UK and Ukrainian artists – to showcase the uniting power of music and art.

ENO’s Award-winning Orchestra and Chorus will be treat fans to winning Eurovision songs, music from interval acts like Riverdance and Eurovision’s long-standing theme music – Charpentier’s Te Deum.

Joyful, moving and loud, it promises to perfectly capture the spirit of Eurovision.

Themba will be performing in a trio alongside tenors Russell Watson and Zwakele Tshabalala.

Click here for more info.

Themba will sing the part of Jesus in this performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Birmingham Symphony Hall with Ex Cathedra Choir & Baroque Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore.

We all know how the story ends, which only makes Bach’s St Matthew Passion all the more profound. Arresting choruses, heart-rending arias and instrumental colour bring the drama to life, making this a compelling musical pilgrimage irrespective of personal belief.

This concert will recreate elements of the Good Friday liturgy from Leipzig as Bach knew it.

Sung in German with English surtitles.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will be playing the title role of Bhekizizwe, as well as multiple other characters, in this operatic monodrama for Opera Ddraig. Directed by Benjamin Davis and conducted by Robert Fokkens, the composer.

Moving backwards and forwards in time, tracing the life of a South African Zulu man (from childhood during the last years of apartheid to studies and unexpected fatherhood in the UK in the early 2000s), ‘Bhekizizwe’ explores questions of identity, race, immigration, parenthood and culture.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will be playing the role of The Wolf in this family friendly production for Northern Opera Group. Directed by Sophie Gilpin and conducted by Chris Pulleyn.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will be playing the role of The Wolf in this family friendly production for Northern Opera Group. Directed by Sophie Gilpin and conducted by Chris Pulleyn.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will be playing the title role of Bhekizizwe, as well as multiple other characters, in this operatic monodrama for Opera Ddraig. Directed by Benjamin Davis and conducted by Robert Fokkens, the composer.

Moving backwards and forwards in time, tracing the life of a South African Zulu man (from childhood during the last years of apartheid to studies and unexpected fatherhood in the UK in the early 2000s), ‘Bhekizizwe’ explores questions of identity, race, immigration, parenthood and culture.

For more info and to book tickets click here.

Themba will be playing the title role of Bhekizizwe, as well as multiple other characters, in this operatic monodrama for Opera Ddraig. Directed by Benjamin Davis and conducted by Robert Fokkens, the composer.

Moving backwards and forwards in time, tracing the life of a South African Zulu man (from childhood during the last years of apartheid to studies and unexpected fatherhood in the UK in the early 2000s), ‘Bhekizizwe’ explores questions of identity, race, immigration, parenthood and culture.

For more info and to book tickets click here.