Bongani Ndodana-Breen is a South African composer whose works have been performed around the world to great acclaim. His work spans vocal, symphonic, and chamber music; his opera Winnie, based on the life of Winnie Mandela, was a critical success on its premiere in Pretoria, and is the subject of a chapter in Naomi André’s Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement. At Yale, he will create a major new work, New Africa Passion, based largely on Gospel texts, drawing from the many languages of Africa and the Diaspora, and evoking a pan-African sonic perspective.
