The Performers Organisation of South Africa Trust (POSA) is a recording artists’ Trust established to administer Needletime Rights on behalf of SAMRO’s Needletime Rights members.
POSA has a Board of Trustees that has eleven (11) members, and the composition of the Board is as follows:
- three (3) Trustees appointed by SAMRO
- one executive director from the SAMRO Board (SAMRO’s CEO);
- one non-executive director of the SAMRO Board; and
- one appointee of the founder, who is also POSA’s Executive Trustee.
- six (6) Trustees appointed from the Beneficiaries (SAMRO Needletime Rights members); and
- two (2) independent Trustees who are neither SAMRO’s representatives nor representatives of the Beneficiaries
Pfanani Lishivha: Executive General Manager
Recording artists who serve on the POSA Board of Trustees are:
Sibongile Khumalo (Chairman)
 Sibongile Khumalo is without doubt one of South Africa’s most multifaceted singers, at home with oratorio, art songs, the opera, as well as jazz and other popular music genres.
Armed with a B.A. (Mus)(Unizul), a B.A. (Hons)(Wits) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management from the Wits Business School (H.D.P.M.), she has held various teaching and administrative posts.
She has also served on various boards and is currently the chairperson of the National Arts Festival Committee (Grahamstown).
Since 1993, Sibongile has successfully pursued a full-time career as a singer and performing artist, for which she has received numerous awards, amongst which are:
- the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music (1993);
- 4 South African Music Awards for her light music and jazz recordings; and
- 3 FNB Vita awards for her opera and concert work.
In the past 3 years, Sibongile has also ventured into the area of Music Directing, working successfully with the accomplished pianist Themba Mkhize, among others.
Sibongile has a number of other accolades, outside of her work as a performing artist. These include:
- the SAB Leadership Award (2002);
- Rapport/City Press Prestige Award (2001);
- Standard Bank/Tribute Woman of Substance (2001);
- SA Women for Women (2001)-Toronto;
- Oude Molen 100 Reserve Order of Merit (1996); and
- the Convocation Alumni Award for Excellence-University of Zululand (1995).
Her interest in development work has seen her maintain an active involvement in the Khongisa Academy for the Performing Arts, founded by the late Prof. Khabi Mngoma, based in Vulindlela Township, Empangeni KZN. It is through her work with the Khongisa Academy that she is developing a music programme that encompasses the best of both African and Western musical traditions, with a view to developing the Khongisa Certificate.
Sibongile was bestowed with the Order of Ikhamanga Silver by Former President Kgalema Motlanthe in October 2008. She was also conferred with a Doctor of Music degree honoris causa by Rhodes University on 18 April 2009.
Concord Nkabinde
 Soweto, south of Johannesburg, Gauteng, is the birth place of this well respected musician, composer, producer & music educator. Concord’s interest in music began around age 10, in the dusty streets of Soweto, as he got involved with many church music groups and later ventured into the broader music industry. He soon realized the need to acquire more knowledge and experience, and this led him to pursue a Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Studies at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban. On completion, he went on to teach music in his hometown of Soweto & around Johannesburg, before deciding to pursue a career as a studio and touring musician. He soon became a highly sought after bass guitarist, working with the likes of Abdullah Ibrahim, Zim Ngqawana, Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Arno Carstens & others.
During this period Concord also honed his leadership skills as a musical director and recording producer. His work as a producer includes 2 personal solo albums and recordings by Joyous Celebration, Wendy Mseleku and Tsunami. He has toured internationally with Johnny Clegg, Zim Ngqawana, Darius Brubeck, Deepak Ram, Phil Manzaniera of Roxy Music, Ray Phiri, to name but a few. Concord’s musical services have also been utilized by numerous international performing artists who have toured South Africa, such as Roy Ayers (USA), Colin “Black” Vearncombe (U.K.), Sergio Dias (Brazil), Efrain Toro (Puerto Rico), Eero Koivistoinen (Finland) and others.
Concord has a driving passion for cross-cultural collaboration projects. The mission of breaking down virtual boundaries that tend to divide people is a path he has embraced with both hands and heart. This passion led him to involvement with a few projects of this nature: Southern Cross – South Africa & Brazil (1994); Gathering Forces – Jazz & Classical Indian music (1994/97); Shuttle 99 – South Africa & Nordic countries (1998/99); Beyond the rainbow – China & South Africa(2001); Two Nations – U.K. & South Africa (1997); Imbizo – Finland & South Africa (2003).
Concord he released his debut album titled “The time, The season” in 2003. He also established an independent record label, Drocnoc Music. Concord released his second album titled “This is my World”, in 2006.
Concord has great passion and time for development in the music industry. He often conducts workshops on Music Business, Improvisation, Ensemble performance and Developing an identity as an artist.
Concord is a recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz, 2006. His music has been described as a cross-cultural sound that brings together people of different backgrounds to a place of common ground. With his band of professionally exciting musicians, his performances are always interactive and stimulating. Concord presents an internationally appealing, yet proudly South African sound. Many audiences have found Concord’s performances not only entertaining, but educational and informative as well. His performances are sure to leave one with things to think about, stimulating a deeper thought on our purpose and responsibilities for everyday life.
Helena Hettema
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- ‘Free Spirits’ for PACT’s first Pot Pourri Festival;
- ‘Colours of Life’ which put her on the road to becoming one of South Africa’s acclaimed cabaret artists;
- ‘Introspectives’ which featured only her own music and was taken to the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown;
- PACT’s Pot Pourri Festival (1990);
- ‘Dream Scream Carousel’ (1991);
- ‘Piaf, Brel and Just a Little Me’ which was performed hundreds of times from 1993 onwards at venues countrywide as well as in Botswana and Zimbabwe; and
- ‘Journeyman’ (1996) which was well-received in London in 1997.
Helena does corporate cabarets, and her clients include ABSA, Toyota SA, the Cansa Institute, Child Welfare, Eskom, Transnet, Medihelp, Cartier, the Press Association, Standard Bank and Rapport.
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Helena has also featured in TV programmes such as:
- Muzik a la Carte;
- Potpourri;
- Six on One;
- Kyknet Top 10;
- Pasella;
- Kwela;
- Stoute Boude;
- Geraas;
- Belboks; and
- Kunskafee.
Helena has performed in countries such as Italy, Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, and New Zealand.
Helena has released the following nine (9) CDs to date:
- Fool’s Gold (1995);
- Jasmine Lament (1997);
- Helena Hettema Highlights (1998);
- Dreaming (2000);
- The Bridge (2002);
- Divided Heart (2004);
- Divas Divine – Inside Out (2005); and
- Spirit of Piaf and other French Legends (Double Album) – 2007.
Awards
- The GMT SABC 2 Award for Best Female Solo Artist (2005);
- The Herald newspaper’s Showtime Award for the Best Cabaret in The Barn Theatre, Opera House, PE in 2004 (2005); and
- Laureate Award for Excellence in the Arts from her alma mater, the University of Pretoria (2007).
Nominations
- FNB SAMA (SA Music Awards) for Outstanding Performance and Dedication to the Music Industry for the CD “Helena Hettema Highlights” (1999);
- FNB Vita Theatre Awards for Best Musical Review Production for her cabaret “The Legends and a Touch of Me” as well as for Best Costume Design; and
- FNB Vita Theatre Awards in 2001/2002 for Best Performance by an Artist in a Musical Revue Production and Best Musical Revue for her show “The Bridge” (2000 / 2001).
Judith Sephuma
 Judith Sephuma’s standing as South Africa’s pre-eminent female vocalist is confirmed yet again with the release of her third solo album. Change is Here is nothing short of a musical tour de force that skillfully combines a graceful sophistication with enough playfulness and whimsy to deliver a thoroughly listenable offering that never strays from Sephuma’s African roots. And like its predecessors, the latest from this multi award-winning artist will find a dominant (and lasting) place in the music collections of fans of quality music throughout the country, and beyond its borders.
One only needs listen to ‘Thul’ umamele’ straight after ‘Ga boMoloto’ to get a glimpse of Sephuma’s ability to keep pushing the benchmark. The former is a simply brilliant track that thrusts Sephuma into a world where Mbaqanga guitarwork and driving organs provide the backdrop for her vocals on the only Zulu song on Change is Here. ‘Ga boMoloto’, meanwhile, is driven by a jazzy piano that spurs Sephuma’s vocals into Latino territory, the diversity of styles melding together in an irresistible way. Taken together, they reveal the sound of an artist in full flight.
The starting point for Change is Here was a desire by Sephuma to return to her Sepedi roots, making the album something of a homecoming for the girl from Polokwane who has turned into the flagbearer for soulful jazz that has its roots firmly planted in African soil. Sephuma relates how many of her fans had pressed her to record an album of songs in the vein of the Sepedi ‘Mme Motswadi’, one of the tracks off 2005’s ‘New Beginnings’. “So many people came up to me, at gigs and in the street and told me how much they adored that song so when it came to the new album it seemed a natural fit to go to my roots,” Sephuma explains.
Fittingly, joining Sephuma in her in this journey is producer, Selaelo Selota – who helmed her 2003 debut ‘A Smile, A Cry, A Dance’ and who swiftly gathered the creative elements to assist the singer in executing her vision. The result is nothing short of mesmerising – and choosing to work with Selota was stroke of genius.
Sephuma says Change is Here is the most intimate recording she has done, and the evidence of the influence of her life as a wife and mother is scattered throughout the album. ‘Ask Me Who I Am’, one of just four English-language songs on the album, features Sephuma’s clearly gifted daughter, Tebelelo Sephuma and will strike a chord with mothers and daughters around the globe with its tale of love, no matter what.
For Sephuma, allowing her listeners a glimpse into her life is part of her reason for being an artist. “There is a passage in the Bible that says a person will never get over the pain in their life if they don’t use it to help others and that really struck a chord with me. So even if I am going through challenges, I must use those to write lyrics that really help the people who listen to my music. It makes creating music so much more satisfying.”
As has become Sephuma’s benchmark, Change is Here features a stellar cast of supporting players including Randal Skippers on piano and synthesizer, Michael Phillips on bass guitar, Kwazi Shange on drums, Tlale Makhene on percussion and Sifiso Khanyile, Mahalia Buchanan and Margaret Motsage on backing vocals. The release of the album also marks a new part of Sephuma’s musical journey.
For Sephuma, Change is Here signals nothing less than the adaptability that modern life demands of us. “Things are always changing, but that change always takes place in the here and now so we need to be open to it,” this one-of-a-kind artist says.
Ernie Smith
 Ernie Smith was born in Wentworth, Durban, in March 1971. He started playing guitar at the age of 13, inspired by a mixed tapestry of jazz musical influences like Pat Metheny, George Benson, Larry Carlton and Wes Montgomery. Challenged by their individual, unique sounds, he began the search for his personal expression in an authentic African voice.
Propelled by the sound of South African mentors like Jonathan Butler, Sandile Shange, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa and many others, coupled with his ambition to express and attract young and old to listen to thoughtful music, he has developed a style of playing and singing that is an assimilation of Jazz, African and R&B references.
Ernie’s aim in the playing of his music is to spawn a culture that represents the free spirit of music that celebrates life and the willingness to share.
In 2001 Ernie Smith released his first Album, “Child of the Light”, which went on to win major acclaim, seeing him win the following awards:
- two (2) SAMA awards for Best New Comer; and
- one (1) KORA award for “Most Promising Male in Africa”.
Ernie then went on to release his second Album “Lovely Things” which gave him access to a younger R&B/Jazz audience. This album won two awards:
- SAMA award for Best Jazz Adult Contemporary Album, 2002; and
- METRO FM award for Best Jazz Artist, 2003
Ernie’s rise to National acclaim in South Africa has grown to attract international attention, earning him production collaboration on his 2005 Album “My African Heart” with Grammy Award nominee, Jonathan Butler, featuring Grammy award winner Kirk Whallum.
Ernie is set for the international release of his album, “Everything Around Me’. The album was written over a period of a year and was recorded and produced by Ernie in his studio at his home where he resides with his wife in Durban.
Ernie has also finished the recording of his latest gospel album, “Blessed Man”, which is available in stores nationwide. The album features the likes of Jonathan Butler, John Ellis, Janine Price, Neville D, Imelda Wroots, Arlington Jones, and Swazi Dlamini, Songs and Psalms and more.
“I love being in studio writing and singing, but nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing my music touching people through the gift of song.” – Ernie Smith
“Ernie smith is the perfect 21st century artist. His debut album sees Smith offering up a musical melting pot that’s destined to find fans across a wide spectrum of music tastes.” – Diane Coetzer – Billboard Magazine
“I Love Ernie just as I would my own brother and I will tell anyone who asks, “The best of Ernie Smith is yet to come.” – Jonathan Butler.
Coenie de Villiers
 Coenie de Villiers was born and bred in the Free State where he completed his post-graduate studies in Communication, Media Science and Marketing at Free State University. He studied classical piano and played his formal keyboard exams through UNISA.
Coenie is known as the foremost writer/performer in Afrikaans, and critics universally regard his lyrics as being of a world-class standard. He has performed on virtually all of South Africa’s major stages, and has shared shows with the likes of Sibongile Khumalo, Gloria Bosman, Sipho Gumede, Laurika Rauch, David Kramer and a brace of other South African artists. Likewise, many South African artists have performed with him on his twelve albums, inter alia Jonathan Butler, Sipho Gumede, Gloria Bosman, Amanda Strydom, Afrika Mamas, Leslie Rae Dowling, Steve Newman, Amampondo, David Kramer, Brasse vannie Kaap and Karen Zoid.
He has performed abroad in New Zealand, Canada, England, Netherlands and Belgium. Coenie has won numerous awards for his music including two SAMA awards for musical excellence. He is universally acknowledged as one of the most challenging and original singer/songwriters in South Africa, and has for many years bridged the musical divide between cultures in South Africa.
Musically his career began in the late seventies when he released a single for which he wrote the music through EMI. The record went on to win a SARIE award for Most Promising Artist. As first and foremost a songwriter, Coenie found the experience creatively unsatisfying, and resolved not to record again if he could not hold complete creative sway over the product.
At the beginning of the 1980s, he met Paddy Lee Thorp of Mountain Records who afforded him the freedom to write, arrange, produce and perform his first album, the seminal Skoppensboer, which was released in 1982/83. The album featured Coenie’s writing and performance skills as composer, lyricist, pianist and vocalist. The lyric of one song was by Pieter-Dirk Uys, and featured David Kramer doing a duo with Coenie. The album caused a furor in the conservative, mainstream Afrikaans market and most of the tracks were subsequently banned by the SABC.
This album was followed by Die Reisiger, which featured, inter alia, Jonathan Butler and Steve Newman on guitars, and which went on to win two SARIE awards and a SCOTTY award. As with Skoppensboer, the album was engineered by Kevin Shirley, currently the producer of, amongst others, the band Aerosmith in America . Coenie again produced, wrote and performed the album. The SABC again banned several of the songs.
Kruispaaie followed, an album steeped in the unrest of the middle to late eighties. The title track (referring to the Crossroads squatter camp) included live recordings of squatter evictions during a period where lyrics reflecting the unrest were not allowed. The album also included several live recordings of songs set to the text of award-winning author Hennie Aucamp. Coenie once again wrote, produced and performed the album, and infused it with a clean, crisp production quality that was as yet unheard in the mainstream Afrikaans market.
Coenie lived on the island of Cyprus during the cusp of the eighties and nineties. He wrote, recorded and produced the album Amper Alleen in Cyprus and in Athens, Greece. Amper Alleen was the second SA album to be released on CD. On this quiet, introspective album, Coenie plays with some of the best Greek and Cypriot musicians, notably the bouzouki player Elias Elias.
Coenie and his family returned to South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela and the unbanning of the ANC. He released Hartland, an album which looked at the dark heart of South Africa, and which included an exceptional vocal performance by Leslie Rae Dowling.
Two further two albums on the Mountain label followed: Karoonagte – which included several new tracks and established favourites in a remastered guise. The title track is probably Coenie’s best-known song and has become a classic in the Afrikaans pantheon. The second, Liefdesversies, is a collection of Coenie’s finest love ballads.
Coenie’s subsequent albums were made in conjunction with JNS records. The first, Ek Wens, is a powerhouse album featuring, inter alia, Amanda Strydom, Laurika Rauch, Sipho Gumede, Lucas Maree and the Jubilee 5 singers from the Eastern Cape. The album displayed a new confidence for the singer/songwriter, and songs such as the title track and Lied van die Exiles have become entrenched as favourites.
The next album, Solo , was recorded with a live audience in the studio, and features the talents of erstwhile Blood, Sweat & Tears trumpet player, Bruce Cassidy. Coenie worked with Johan Laas on the production, which has a live feel to it, but with the technical veneer that only a studio can offer. A feature of the album is Coenie’s stunning Afrikaans version of the seminal Bright Blue song, Weeping.
The next album, Hooglied, features the production capabilities of Harold Schenk, who produced the international hit album for Coleske. Coenie ventures into English on this album, and s19.10.2009ika Mamas add textured vocals to the production, and Coenie again shifted the paradigm by using hip-hop group Brasse vannie Kaap in his bilingual version of Desiderata . The album was particularly well received by critics.
His next album, Zen, reflects the certainty of a musician and songwriter with two decades of experience behind him. It is primarily a songwriter’s album, with Coenie sharing production credits with Johan Laas, Mauritz Lotz and Marius Brouwer. Once again he pushes the envelope by including a raucous duet with South African rock singer Karen Zoid. This album won the SAMA award as best contemporary Afrikaans album of 2003.
At the beginning of 2003 Mountain Record re-released Coenie’s first album, Skoppensboer, in a commemorative boxed CD edition.
His most critically acclaimed album thus far has been the acoustic “unplugged” album Handgemaak, released in 2004 and featuring amongst others the vocal talents of South Africa ‘s biggest selling artist, Steve Hofmeyr. The album’s universal crossover appeal spoke to both mass audiences as well as critics, and won Coenie yet another SAMA award in 2005 for best contemporary Afrikaans album. The album was also nominated by popular vote for the Huisgenoot TEMPO awards in 2005.
Coenie’s other album, Weerlig oor die See, was released in 2008, and his latest album, Dekade, was released in 2009.
Tina Schouw
 Tina Schouw is a singer/ songwriter /musician and author who worked in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. She is a self taught musician who has produced and staged her own shows and has worked in various musical theatre productions in South Africa. She works as a solo artist or with her band. Her songwriting draws from an eclectic blend of musical styles, which includes jazz, folk, pop and latin all of which reflect her versatility as an artist. Her composition,” Free Spirit” was chosen as the theme music for the programme “Free Spirit” on SABC3. Her song Guardian and the Keeper of the flame was used in the South African film-maker, Akiedah Mohammed’s movie, “Freedom is a personal journey” and it was the title of the widely acclaimed dance and music theatre production with the Jazzart Dance Company in 2005 and 2006. She is part of the trio “Womantide” with poet/playright Malika Ndlovu and filmmaker/ singer/songwriter Ernestine Deane.
In 2009 she performed solo at the World HIV Pathogenic Conference at the CTICC. In September 2008 she was invited to performed at the Royale Theatre Carre”, as part of a showcase on South African artists, joining singer /songwriter Amanda Strydom, comedienne Nik Rabinowitz and MTV Award winning group Freshlyground. In that same year April 2008, she was invited to perform for the Nederlandse Zuid Afrikaanse Vereniging in Amsterdam. In 2007 &2008 she performed in the concert Sista’s Healing or Souls under the musical direction of Sibongile Khumalo. On the 6th June 2008, she and fellow singer/songwriter Natascha Roth organised a “Xeno-Love- Here” benefit concert for the Treatment Action Campaign’s relief fund to assist with their crisis relief work with Displaced Foreign Nationals. In 2006 the Tina Schouw Band performed to a packed out auditorium at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. In 2005 she organised a benefit concert for Aids orphans of two day-care centres in Nyanga and Woodstock respectively.
“I believe in the gift of music, in its healing strains/ that hold and soothe us; in its omnipotent power to bend us like a bow and in its mystical arrow of words that connect s us all and know only this one certainty, how to pierce us relentlessly straight through the heart”.
In October 2009, Tina did a Live /Recording show with Paul Abro at Beach Road Studios, Seapoint. This recorded material will be the basis of her new album this year. In April 2009, “The Goodnight Songs”, was released under the African Cream Music Label and was nominated for a SAMA Award in the, “Best English Children’s Album” category. In October 2009 she collaborated with African Cream Music on the “Jazzing and Jiving album”. Tina’s debut album, “BLEED” was released in 2000. She has published 3 children’s books story, “Who is it who?”(Cambridge University Press in 2009) “Dreamwalking”, (Shuter Publishers 2008) and “Tina’s Song” (Cambridge University Press). She is currently working on her third album and fourth children’s book. |
