Kaya 959 The Jazz Standard

Ofentse Pitse on The Jazz Standard with Brenda Sisane

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Ofentse Pitse is a conductor and architect hailing from Pretoria, South Africa. Her musical roots run deep, nurtured by her late mother's love for old-school music and her family's heritage in The Salvation Army church, where her grandfather was a prominent jazz trumpeter and co-founder of the iconic Sophiatown jazz band, The Jazz Maniacs.

From picking up the trumpet at twelve to founding Anchored Sound, a space for young, classically trained, disenfranchised youth, Ofentse's journey has been marked by relentless dedication. She holds the distinction of being the first young, black female conductor of an all-black orchestra and choir in Africa, breaking barriers and garnering global recognition from brands like Netflix, Forbes Africa, and CHANEL.

Her recent collaborations, such as conducting a 74-piece global female orchestra of color for the Netflix series Queen Charlotte and merging orchestral sounds with Amapiano in 'Red Bull Symphonic presents Kabza de Small and Ofentse Pitse,' cement her status as a pioneering visionary.
2 Aug English South Africa Music History · Music Commentary

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