Portuguese-born pianist, José Dias is a regular presence in all major concert halls and arts festivals in South Africa. Recent performances have taken him to various countries in Africa and Europe, with appearances in such historic halls as the Berliner Philharmonie, Münchner Philharmonie, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, among many others.

José is in high demand as soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist, and has been the musical director of Cape Town Opera’s acclaimed touring productions of African Angels and African Passion, and its productions of Viardot’s Cinderella, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore and Bon Appétit! Most recently he was musical director for the world première of Conrad Asman’s opera Trial by Media, based on the trial of Oscar Pistorius, along with Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine. He wrote new music and took the musical direction of Piekniek by Mpande, a reimagining of the protest cabaret Piekniek by Dingaan, as well as for the 2019 Fleur du Cap Awards ceremony. He has been the recipient of several awards from festivals such as Woordfees, KKNK, Aardklop, as well as two kykNET Fiëstas. He was musical director for Master Class, CTO and Pieter Toerien’s hit-production of Terrence McNally’s play, where he also took the role of “Manny” the accompanist, alongside CTO singers led by the legendary South-African actress Sandra Prinsloo as Maria Callas.

José is an avid promoter of contemporary music, having premiered works by composers such as Conrad Asman, Hendrik Hofmeyr and Alexander Johnson. He was also the musical director for Braam du Toit's soundtrack to Oliver Hermanus' feature film Moffie, among other cinematic productions. 

José is a sought-after piano teacher and a vocal coach, mentoring and collaborating with many of the leading South African singers. He is a part-time teacher at Rustenburg Girls’ High School and a part-time lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Music Department, working within the voice and choral conducting divisions.

Magdalene Minnaar is a South African soprano, director and producer well-known in the music industry for setting new trends and challenging conventional boundaries. As a well-versed scholar in Classical music, Magdalene founded Biblioteek Productions in 2010, providing a platform for artists and theatre-makers to collaborate on Classical music productions.

She has been creating innovative musical and theatrical experiences since 2001. Recent works directed by her include Terrence McNally’s Master Class, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, Tosca, L’elisir d’amore and Le Nozze di Figaro (Cape Town Opera), La Serva Padrona (Marin Držić Theatre, Dubrovnik), La Bohème (Cape Town Opera / Innibos Festival) and Die Zauberflöte for the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival.

As a soprano Magdalene has sung numerous operatic roles, and is passionate voice teacher. She serves regularly on competition panels and juries, and currently holds the position of ​​Artistic Director at Cape Town Opera and is also on the boards of The Songmakers’ Guild of South Africa and Opera Box Limited, Hong Kong.

South African soprano Siphamandla Moyake graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kwazulu-Natal, and subsequently a Postgraduate Diploma in Opera at the University of Cape Town. During her studies at UCT she appeared in the roles of Anne Truelove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, and Saartjie in Henrik Hofmeyr’s homonymous opera on the life of Saartjie Baartman.

Siphamandla is a former Studio member and later Soloist at Cape Town Opera, where she appeared in the roles of Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio at the Castle of Good Hope, Frasquita in Bizet's Carmen, Winnie Mandela in Mandela Trilogy, and many others. Some of her major international stage debuts include the role of Clara in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in France. Her concert appearances include the soprano solos in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and Mozart's C minor Mass with the Cape Town Symphonic Orchestra.

Siphamandla was a finalist at the Hans Gabor Belvedere international singing competition, the L'Assoluta Virginia Zeani competition, and the Tbilisi Opera Crown Competition, where she was awarded an engagement prize to perform at the Tbilisi Opera House in the role of Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen. She also appeared as the soprano soloist in a performance of Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time presented by the Spanish TV-Radio Orchestra in Madrid. Her most recent operatic appearance as Countess Almaviva in CTO's production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Artscape Opera house and at the Roodepoort Theatre in Johannesburg was recorded by kykNET for broadcast and streaming.

Janel Speelman is a South African soprano, who has established herself as a versatile performer in operatic, concert and art song repertoire in South Africa. Speelman is a graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she attained a Bachelor of Music degree, an Honours in Western Classical Vocal Performance, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Opera with lecturer Professor Virginia Davids. Speelman completed a Master of Music qualification at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre and Dance in 2016 under the vocal tuition of Professor Daniel Washington. Janel Speelman is an Oppenheimer Memorial Trust recipient and was also awarded the George Shirley and the Andrea Person Scholarship. During her study she was invited to sing at the annual prestigious performance at the Kennedy Centre.

Speelman has operatic and concert experience. She is a versatile artist with an extensive skillset in classical and light music styles alike. She has performed at numerous festivals around South Africa, of which these include the Suidoosterfees, Toyota Woordfees, Klein Karoo Klassique, the Greyton Classics festival, and the Hessequa Harmonie festival in Heidelberg. In 2022 Speelman was nominated for a Toyota Woordfees award for the vocal music category following the success of the performance of Lied Muses: Bonds, Larsen and Boulanger with Dr Pieter Grobler. In November 2022, Speelman was involved in the workshop and performance of a scene from Paola Prestini’s Sensorium Ex at the Artscape Theatre. The work is an inclusive operatic production highlighting the abilities of people living with disability.

In 2023 Speelman performed as soloist for the Rutter’s Magnificat at the Cape Town, City Hall with the Symphony Choir of Cape Town. Later that year, she participated in the South African debut of Nana Amowee Dawson’s chamber work, Kwadehyewa at the ISCM World New Music Festival. Later this month Speelman will return to the Toyota Woordfees to debut the role of Eva in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung under the baton of Martin Berger.

In addition to her work as vocal lecturer at University of Stellenbosch, Janel Speelman held a contract position at the South African College of Music at UCT during 2023. Speelman continues in her position as vocal lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch while preparing for many exciting upcoming engagements in South Africa.

Albie van Schalkwyk established himself as performer in a number of fields over the past 40 years. One of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa, he has also performed as soloist with SA orchestras, performed solo recitals, given master classes for singers and accompanists, worked as a music producer for the SABC, and arranged music for various combinations, including Broadway musicals and operas for 2 pianos and orchestral pieces for 3 to 8 pianos. He completed his Ph.D. in Music at the University of the Free State in May 2012.

His interest in vocal music and the art song in particular has led to many fulfilling concert partnerships with singers. One of these was the formation in 1994 of The Songmakers’ Guild, a Cape Town organisation which provides a regular platform to performers in the field of the art song and from which he recently retired as Artistic Director. He was involved in the Neuberg Internationale Kulturtage summer school as coach and performer for over 20 years and during one university sabbatical year worked as coach in the Vocal Department of the Mozarteum Music University in Salzburg, Austria. In 2009 the SA Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded him the Huberte Rupert Prize for his contribution to ensemble playing and teaching over more than 30 years.

Albie retired from his post as Associate Professor in Piano and Chamber Music at the SA College of Music, University of Cape Town, at the end of 2017. Since then he has continued his activities as collaborative pianist in chamber music and the art song repertoire, piano teacher (live and online), vocal coach and arranger for multiple pianos, all under the heading of the Musicumbrella Piano Studio.