The Orchestra currently has three fellows who are music students at international schools, receiving financial and artistic support from the Mzansi Philharmonic. When not abroad, these individuals also perform as members of the Orchestra from time to time. They are all artists who have shown distinction in their field, great promise as professional musicians, and are all an important part of South Africa’s future.



Pendo Masote joined the Johannesburg Philharmonic as a Violin Fellow in 2017. Since then he has been a pupil of Akiko Ono at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Britain’s flagship specialist music school, where he recently completed his GCSE (formerly O-levels) with distinctions in Music and Physical Science. He is currently doing his A-levels in Music, English Literature, and History.
Kamogelo Maraba started playing the cello at the age of eight, performing at festivalsthroughout South Africa. Kamogelo has also participated in the South African National Youth Orchestra courses and Pro Corda North Chamber Music Course in North Yorkshire, England. He is the former principal cellist of the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra and was awarded a fellowship by the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra in 2020. He is currently an undergraduate at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, studying under Ben Davies.
Liam Slabbert recently graduated from high school and received a full scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London to specialise in bassoon. A bassoonist since the age of nine, under the guidance of Ms Carin Bam, Liam was fortunate enough to receive online classes from Prof Sarah Burnett, who is a lecturer at the Royal College of Music. He has performed as a member of various orchestras, such as the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (Principal Bassoonist), the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra. He joined the Mzansi Philharmonic’s Fellowship programme in August 2022.