Katherine McClelland
Katherine McClelland is the director of Music Voyage. Katherine studied music and has worked as both a performer and a teacher. She started with Music Voyage as a volunteer in one of the informal settlements in the Midlands and is now running the project. She is passionate about creating uplifting opportunities for others to empower them to change their lives and make a lasting difference in their communities through the inspiration, beauty, and discipline of music.
Bheki Shelembe
Bheki Shelembe is our driver and community liaison officer. He provides the essential task of getting children to and from practice and performance venues. He is responsible for networking and communicating within the communities we serve. He also runs and monitors practice sessions for musicians. Bheki forms and integral part of the programme.
Cathryn Bentley
Cathryn Bentley is a clarinettist and pianist who teaches in the Pietermaritzburg area. She studied music education in Stellenbosch and is a passionate teacher. She currently teaches saxophone for the Music Voyage project.
Fiona Bull
Fiona Bull has been teaching music for thirty years, the past ten of which have been in Howick. She has a specific interest in involving children in musical performance, including singing, instrumental playing, acting and dancing. Her musical tastes are eclectic – ranging from classical to traditional South African music right through to the songs children listen to every day on their devices.
Dumisane Mnculwane
Dumisane Mnculwane is a teacher, lives in Bruntville, Mooi River, and is the musical director of our brass band. He holds a position on our advisory board and is a natural leader by the exemplary example he sets. Dumisani is passionate about music and the life changing role it can play. Dumisani has inspired many of our students through his passion and good humour.
Vanessa Hounsell
Vanessa Hounsell joined the Music Voyage team in 2018 to assist with administration. Vanessa is a business consultant, who is passionate about empowering individuals and working with organisations that are making a real difference in our local communities. Vanessa is the secretary of the Music Voyage Board.
Leanne Rencken
Leanne Rencken works as a volunteer in the Music Voyage communications space. She is an enthusiastic, happy person with years of experience in content creation, curation and publishing. She has travelled extensively across Africa, from Botswana where she grew up, to Nigeria, Kenya, Angola and beyond. She believes in the transformative power of great content, no matter the platform or product. Most recently this love of story-telling has led to her to pursuing travel, teaching English as a foreign language and freelancing as a writer and editor.
Helen Mennie
Helen Mennie is the founder of Music Voyage and she ran the project successfully for 8 years. Helen has many years experience of teaching piano, guitar, recorder and violin. She also has valuable experience at grass roots community level.
S'bongumusa Majola
S'bongumusa Majola is a brass specialist and started teaching at various local schools in Pietermaritzburg in 2023. S’bongumusa studied for his music education degree at NWU. He believes music education is a creative tool that is meant to empower people and develop high-functioning members of society.
Philippa Kerr
Philippa Kerr teaches the violin at schools in and around Pietermaritzburg. She worked in universities as a social scientist for ten years before leaving academia in 2022 to teach and freelance. She is a member of the Pietermaritzburg City Orchestra and sometimes serves as concert master. She's also an artist, printmaker and quilter, and writes a blog about leaving academia.