Our Teachers
Redhill Music School
Teachers
Academic Music Teachers
Rudi Olivier
Rudi Olivier is the Head of Campus Music and Coordinator of the Middle Years Arts Programme. He is an accomplished musician and educator with an impressive list of achievements and accolades. Rudi graduated cum laude from the University of Stellenbosch with a BMus Hons followed by a Licentiate in Music Performance (cum laude) from UNISA. Throughout his career, Rudi has achieved numerous distinctions, including the Gertrude Buchanan Memorial prize at the UNISA Overseas Scholarship Competition and he was the winner of the Organ Category at the Oude Meester Music Competition. In terms of training and conducting choirs, Rudi was awarded the Mayor of Cape Town Cup for the best choir performance at the Cape Town Eisteddfod as well as a medal for winning the Senior Choral Program category at the National Eisteddfod Academy. Rudi's teaching philosophy is student-centred with the aim of preparing students to be high-functioning members of society. He believes in engaging students in activities that require them to be creative, disciplined, flexible, and to work cooperatively with others, all while developing excellent musicianship. With almost three decades of experience in music teaching, Rudi is a dedicated and accomplished teacher.
Dr. Angie Mullins
amullins@redhill.co.za
Dr Mullins teaches class music to the Grade 11 and 12 students and conducts the Redhill Middle and High School Orchestra. Dr. Mullins is the person to speak to regarding class music in the Middle and Senior schools and academic music in general. Dr Angie Mullins is a passionate music educator who believes that music is an essential part of every child’s growth and development. She holds a PhD in Music Education, specializing in the development of 21st century competencies through inquiry and project-based music tuition. As the Head of Music, Dr Mullins has developed several new and innovative programmes that provide greater access and exposure to music for Redhill’s students. In addition to her role as Head of Music, Dr Mullins is a Research Fellow at Africa Open Institute for Music Research and Innovation at Stellenbosch University, and serves as Redhill's Head of Professional Development, ensuring that all of Redhill’s ELC, Junior, Middle and High School teachers are familiar with and implementing the most up-to-date pedagogical and educational neuroscience research.
Jeni Murchison
jmurchison@redhill.co.za
I am passionate about the Arts. I have taught Dramatic Arts at Redhill for over twenty years. My career path has been varied and includes being a director of a Theatre in Education Company, training corporates in Presentation Skills, teaching at FUBA (Federated Union of Black Artists), teaching dance, and acting and dancing professionally. I have been a Grade Head for the past six years and I am currently the Matric Grade Head for the second year running.
Hybre Meyer
hmeyer@redhill.co.za
Hybre is the Junior School class music teacher and is the person to contact regarding timetabled music classes in the Junior School. My name is Hybré Meyer and I am in the most rewarding profession namely, Education. I have been in the classroom for 26 enriching years and taught mainly Class Music and trained the school choirs. I am a Class Music and Choir Specialist and have extensive experience in teaching Class Music Education and Choir Training. I am a professional pianist and offer accompaniment for various school events. At Redhill, I teach Class Music to Grade 2 to 7 and train both the Grade 2 to 3 Choir and Grade 4 to 5 Choir. I graduated from various South African Universities and achieved the following qualifications: HED. SP (BEd); B.MusHons and M.MusEd. I am currently working on my Ph.D in Music Education. I published two Class Music Manuals - one called, 'Songs and Activities for the Rainbow Nation' (Grade 0 - 3) and 'Access To Music' (Grade 4 - 7). I am passionate about music literacy and believe strongly that all students should play at least one music instrument in their lifetime and receive a strong base in Class Music Education. "As passionate music teachers, let us continue to inspire, inform and educate our children about the intrinsic value of music. As class music teachers, let us strive to make a difference through the power of music. Teach with a purpose and promote the importance of class music in the school curriculum. Build bridges and expand music teacher network. Keep the music alive in our schools".
Penny Jackson
pjackson@redhill.co.za
My name is Penny Jackson and I teach class music at the Early Learning Centre. I have taught for many years and I have a great love of teaching little ones. My teaching is informed by the Orff Schulwerk approach, which is an holistic approach to music education, involving speech, singing, dancing and creative movement and playing of instruments, both melodic and non-melodic. Music concepts are uncovered and explored through engaging and active experiences, which lay the foundation for a comprehensive musical training which continues as they go into primary school and the higher grades.
Instrumental Teachers
Keenan Arhends
Keenan Ahrends is a jazz guitarist and composer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Having started playing the guitar at the age of fifteen, he completed his undergraduate degree in jazz performance at the University of Cape Town and the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2009. In 2019, he completed an honours degree in performance at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. During this degree, he completed research into the life and music of prominent South African jazz guitarist Errol Dyers. During his tertiary studies combined, he studied under the likes of Jon Eberson, Wayne Bosch, Eckhard Baur, Alvin Dyers, and Andrew Lilly.
Ahrends has toured extensively both within South Africa and internationally. He has performed with prominent musicians such as Louis Moholo, Feya Faku, Thandi Ntuli, Malcolm Braff, Andile Yenana, Carlo Mombelli, Afrika Mkhize, Herbie Tsoaeli, Buddy Wells, Mark Fransman, Shane Cooper, SOMI, amongst others. Notable performances have been at the Birds Eye Jazz Club (Basel, Switzerland), the Amersfoort Jazz Festival (The Netherlands), the Cape Town international Jazz Festival, Reunion Island Ocus Pocus Festival, the Joy of Jazz Festival, the Edge of Wrong festival, and the Standard Bank Youth Jazz Festival. He has also performed in venues and festivals in eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), Sweden, Norway Mozambique and Nigeria.
Joshua Ackerman
Majoring in Music for Film & TV at AFDA, Josh graduated top of his class in 2009. He went on to start “And On That Note,” composing jingles for the likes of Sprite, Beacon, MTN, Vodacom and Edgars. His original songs have received international airplay and been featured in movies and games, including EA Sports' “Rugby 08” and MTV’s “Footskating 101.”
Since 2005, Josh has taught hundreds of guitarists, bassists and songwriters of all ages and skill levels through Josh Ackerman Music, which will be expanding internationally in 2022 as “One Minute Guitarist.” Josh has taught at Redhill since 2014, focusing on Rock & Pop performance, including the weekly Rock Band class, giving kids the chance to rock out on stage after school.
Josh is also an immersive theatre director, having founded Standing O Immersive Experiences in 2016. "Immortal," Standing O's debut production, was seen by thousands of people during its sold-out run and was nominated for two Fleur du Cap awards, including Best New Director, and seven Broadway World Awards, including Best New Work. He is now developing his first feature film.
Janet Bottomly
Janet Bottomly is a highly respected and much loved teacher in the Johannesburg music community. She started at St. Peters Boy's Prep in 1980 with 6 piano students and had grown this to over 60 students by the time she left in 1989 whilst maintaining an impressive performance career. Janet has also taught at St. Peter's Girl's School and Michael Mount Waldorf, teaching piano and accompanying choirs and other ensembles.
"In my opinion, every student is an individual essence. Flexibility with each need and personality is vital. I like to vary my material, exposing the student to many types and styles of music. Fun is also very important to me, but I do encourage students to take practical and theory examinations."
Philip Cox
Philip Cox has been a regular feature of concert stages and theatre pits for over two decades, having been Principal Trumpeter of the Johannesburg Philharmonic and Johannesburg Festival Orchestras for 13 of those 22 years. Touring artists consider Philip to be the trumpeter of choice when coming to South Africa and sharing the stage with the likes of Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Katherine Jenkins, Andrea Bocelli and Shakira pays testament to the musical versatility that Philip is well known for. Philip Cox’s Debut Album, Top Draw, received a Libera Award in 2016 for the best Instrumental album. Philip is thrilled to be on the staff of Redhill School and regards this role in music education as the very peak of working in the music industry.
Haydn Goldman
I have been teaching Drumming at Redhill School for 22 years. I started drumming when I was 13 years old. The students range from Pre Prep to Matric. They do drumming purely for pleasure or they can study for the Trinity Rock and Pop Syllabus which offers them Certificate Level Initial to Grade 8. I have studied drumming in the South African Navy for 7 years. Thereafter I studied Jazz at Birmingham University for 4 years. Following Birmingham I was offered a place at Berkley College in Boston USA. I was fortunate to study with some of the most notable teachers in drumming namely Joe Morelo (of Take 5 fame) and Buddy Rich, possibly one of the greatest drummers who ever lived. Whilst studying I played for a number of different bands in the UK. On my return to South Africa I played for many well known South African bands. As a session drummer I featured on 64 albums from jazz, pop, Country and Western and rock. My latest venture has been as drummer for Cindy Alter Big Band. She is the highest selling female artist in South Africa. I have my own band, Hullabaloo. We have been together for 25 years. I enjoy teaching students from 6 years of age to people in their retirement years who enjoy the instrument as a form of therapy or relaxation.
Dr. Visser Liebenberg
Dr Visser Liebenberg is an educator, performer and researcher. He currently serves as Woodwind Specialist for the instrumental program, teaching clarinet, saxophone and flute at Redhill. Visser holds a PhD from Stellenbosch University’s Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation where he researched themes of decoloniality, artistic researcher, artistic experimentation, clarinet practice and free improvisation. His current research is focused in creating artistic projects through ethnographical-geographical writing processes in addressing industrial ecological pollution in Mpumalanga. Throughout his studies as classical musician, Visser was an active orchestral clarinettist for Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra while performing regularly as soloist and chamber musicians at various classical and contemporary music festivals in the Western Cape and Gauteng.
Jaco Meyer
Jaco Meyer is a music teacher, composer and academic. After studying in South Africa and conducting research in Europe, he graduated with a PhD in music from the North-West University and an LTCL from the Trinity College of London. His music has been performed in various countries and by prominent musicians and orchestras such as the Royal Flemish Orchestra. He teaches piano, keyboard, composition and music theory to students of all ages.
Daline Mitchley
Daline Mitchley (nè Wilson) is a well-known performer, teacher and recording artist. Daline grew up in Klerksdorp and started music at the age of 4 with Annemarie Schulenburg (violin) and Truida vd Walt (piano) at the University of the North-West, and graduated from the University of Pretoria with a BMus degree. She is the acting second violin principal for many of Gauteng's leading orchestras as well as a member of numerous chamber groups and theatre ensemble productions, locally and abroad. Daline performed on several television and Radio commercials (British Airways) and several albums for South African and international artists. Some of these included the Grammy award winning album for Freshly Ground and National Geographic's documentaries 'The White Lion' and ‘Okavango: River of Dreams’. Daline performed at the premier of Mandela: Long walk to Freedom as well for Walt Disney's South African production of 'The Lion King' in 2019 as well as the inaugurations of some of South Africa’s presidents. As leading violinist, Daline accompanied the international stage production of Sound of Music on their tour of Asia in 2014-2015 and 2018 and as a young girl travelled to several European countries on Youth orchestra tours. Daline has performed locally as well as abroad with some of the world’s most famous artists from classical and jazz to rock and Hip-Hop. Daline is passionate about teaching, both violin and piano. Music is important for all areas of a child’s development and skills, teaching them teamwork, self-expression, confidence and creativity and it is our duty as musicians and educators to share and ignite our love of music to the next generation of young artists. Daline is also actively involved with charitable work, whether it’s lending a helping hand or bringing music to disadvantage communities. Giving back is showing our appreciation for the blessings we receive.
Ziza Muftic
Ziza Muftic is a Johannesburg based musician with roots in Zagreb, Croatia. Her musical upbringing started as a Western classical violin player, then a classical singer. Today, her main form of expression lies in jazz vocals, composition and music education. Ziza’s vocal range stretches from Jazz vocals, to Western classical repertoire. Her sound is a unique blend of Balkan and Eastern European folk songs with the American and South African Jazz styles. Ziza sings in many different languages, English, Croatian, Hungarian, Portuguese, Xhosa and Zulu. Ziza has collaborated with some well- known names in the music industry, such as the SAMA winner Marcus Wyatt, who produced and played on Ziza’s first album release, ‘Ziza Muftic Quartet: Silver moonbeams’ (2015). Her sophomore album ‘Ziza: Shining hour’, was released in May 2019 and was produced by Theodora and Kevin Drummond (Hot Club d’Afrique). Ziza has toured and performed a number of concerts in Johannesburg and Cape town, since the release of her album. “Muftic is now feeling her shining hour. Shining Hour (2019) is her second album, entitled from songwriter, Jonny Mercer’s ‘My Shining Hour’ song of hope and high expectations, and follows on her first album, Silver Moonbeams (2015), with its Balkan rhythms, lyrics, and melodies. Her stories shine in delightfully pleasing and thoughtful ways as she handpicks from known songs and her own compositions.” Carol Martin (May 2019 ‘All Jazz Radio’)
Elbé Roberts
Elbé Roberts (viola/violin) was born into a family of string players in Bloemfontein and went on to Graduate from the University of the Free State with a B.Mus. degree. As a performer, she traveled to many festivals around the world, including a performance with the South African National Youth Orchestra on Red Square, Moscow: participation in the Interlochen Arts Festival, Michigan, USA, and numerous chamber music concerts around South Africa: Pacofs Orchestra (Bloemfontein); SPIER festival orchestra (Stellenbosch); COSA (Pretoria); JMI; JPO; JFO; Pro-Musica ; ICMF & MIAGI – orchestra ( Johannesburg); Barnyard Theatre ; Town Talk, Phoenix Ensemble –( Johannesburg). Diamond quartet -Grahamstown festival. During 2002, Elbé joined the first violin section of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and currently serves as the JPO's Co-Principal Leader. It is often said that music is an international language, a language that can bring people together, and it’s this dimension that truly excites Elbé: whether it be pop, hiphop, jazz, rock or classical; music has the ability to break through all ‘barriers’. As a passionate educator: She believes music education can assist in the development of advantageous life skills in children, enhancing self-discipline, and self confidence.
Marietjie Schoeman
Marietjie holds a Masters' degree in music combined with 30 years of experience. She is therefore well equipped to provide excellence in piano teaching up to ABRSM/Trinity/UNISA Grade 8 and upwards. She teaches children from the age of 4 up to adults. Marietjie has had a successful career as Head of Music at another Private school for 15 years. Some of her students have been selected to participate in the highly prestigious Royal Schools Global International High Achievers concerts. Only a few students are selected from 600,000 entrants worldwide from 93 countries. Marietjie taught as a part time lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Music Education Department. She combines her passion for music and children with her experience of professional musical theatre and opera performances and composes children’s musicals to provide a unique teaching platform for excellence. Marietjie teaches a huge variety of musical genres and believes in excellence in teaching.
Brian Smith
Brian James Smith has been involved in music performance and music education for the last 4 decades. He is a classically trained pianist and studied under the tutelage of the late Estelle Seifert of Williamsville, New York in the United States and also through the Bradley School of Music, Toronto. Brian went on to study flute at the University of Buffalo with Marlene Witenauer, former principal flautist of the Buffalo Philharmonic orchestra. The last 25 years have seen Brian become an integral part of the South African theatre scene as a specialist woodwind doubler playing the demanding scores of productions such as Chicago, Dream Girls, Jersey boys, Sound of Music, The Color Purple and most recently, Matilda. He has performed both locally and internationally. He is an avid Blues and Bossa Nova player involved with his own as well as various local ensembles.
Caitlyn Thomson
Caitlyn is a young and vibrant individual with a fiery passion for the arts and entertainment industry. She studied Musical Theatre at Stageworx Performing Arts School and gained her Licentiate Diploma in Musical Theatre through Trinity Guildhall College in London. She went on to perform in the industry here in South Africa as well as internationally. She has been a vocalist in many different shows, to name a few - A Night With the Stars, working with Bryan Schimmel and the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra, she was a choir member singing with Timothy Moloi at Mount Grace in Magaliesburg as well as a soloist in Born to Perform. She played Teen Fiona in Shrek the Musical at the Lyric Theatre, she was a Wolfette in The Big Bad Musical, she played Ballet Girl in the run of Freckleface Strawberry The Musical at the National Children’s Theatre, as well as the Liesl Understudy and a member of the ensemble in the International Tour of the musical, The Sound of Music.
Caitlyn has been teaching since 2017 and absolutely adores spreading her love and passion for the arts to children of all ages.
Daliwonga Tshangela
Daliwonga Tshangela started his cello studies in Soweto with the AFRICAN YOUTH ENSEMBLE at the age of 13. After a year, He started taking lessons with Prof van de Geest, head of music at University of Pretoria. Daliwonga joined the South Africa Youth Orchestra on their Scotland tour. He was also a member of the orchestra that went to Russia. Daliwonga Tshangela got his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Roosevelt’s Chicago music college. He became a member of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007. He has been teaching since 2002 at places like Nelson Mandela university, Pridwin prep, and Morris Isaacson Centre for Music.
Michael Watt
Michael Watt teaches advanced piano in the Redhill music Studio. As an experienced performer, pianist, educator and musician, Michael is passionate about developing creative performing musicians who will grow into globally minded performers and thinkers who challenge the boundaries of what is possible. He is also the founder of ‘The Imagination Lab’, the online arts education initiative offering competitive, skill-based performance and visual arts courses through intensive coaching.
Sarah Wolff
It has been my pleasure to provide my unique piano teaching method and Internationally recognized Technique to a wide range of Wonderful Clients over the past 30 years. I am duly qualified and have been working with educational bodies for over 32 years. With a keen focus on Student development through a holistic approach to teaching. Students get the personal attention they need, and deserve, to excel and grow through the medium of music. I look forward to working with You in a unique and exciting way. Offering only the most Professional in lessons and developmental programs.