NEO MUYANGA

composer/musician, south africa.

Neo Muyanga was born in Soweto, into a family of composers and the originators of the mozambican mbila - the forebearer of instruments like the marimba and the xylophone.

He studied the italian madrigal tradition with choral maestro, piero poclen, while at the united world college in trieste, Italy.

Neo, together with Masauko Chipembere, co-founded the acoustic duo, blk sonshine ("born in a taxi"; "soul smile"), touring extensively throughout southern africa, the east and west coasts of the united states and parts of western europe..

Neo composes music for choir (currently scoring and arranging a work for the joy of africa choir, based in port elizabeth) and other kinds of ensemble; he has composed music for contemporary dance (jazzart dance theatre/ remix dance company) and the dramatic stage (magnet theatre's production of the fire raisers by max frisch) as well as cinema (the opening and closing credits of craig and damon foster's cosmic africa) and television (architecture of fear by nicky newman).

On tour, neo performs solo on nylon string guitar, acoustic piano and mesinko (traditional ethiopian bowed instrument) as well as with a quartet of improvising musicians on bansuri flutes and harmonium, electric violin, bass and drum and percussion set.