THE CHOPIN PROJECT I

José Dias (piano), The Selene String Quartet — Catherine Stiff (violin), Jana Smit (viola), Rosamund Roth (cello), Zoë Coetzee (violin) — and Zanelle Britz, (double-bass)

The first instalment in José Dias’ The Chopin Project consists of a concert performance of Frédéric Chopin’s two spectacular Piano Concertos in a chamber music setting for piano and string quintet. Rarely heard in this combination, full of virtuosity and the ravishing musical beauty for which Chopin is so well known and beloved, his Piano Concertos Op.11 and Op.21 are relatively early works, displaying the Polish genius at his most extroverted and virtuosic. But despite the incredible pianistic demands and originality, they capture audiences firstly for their unique, spellbinding lyricism and depth of feeling.  Pianist José Dias partners with the newly constituted Selene String Quartet, an outstanding team of young prize-winning string players consisting of Zoe Coetzee (violin), Catherine Stiff (violin), Jana Smit (viola) and Rosamund Roth (cello), alongside bassist Zanelle Britz, to develop this unique programme.  

BIOGRAPHIES

Catherine Stiff

Catherine Stiff is currently a BMusHonours student at the University of Stellenbosch, specializing in violin performance under the tutelage of Dr. Suzanne Martens. Her musical journey began at age of 5 with Dorothea Overbeck, followed by several years of instruction with Denise Sutton. In addition to her primary focus on the violin, Catherine is also proficient as a violist.

Catherine has performed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and has competed in various music competitions. Catherine was the associate concertmaster of the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra in 2023 and 2024, and co-concertmaster in 2025. In addition, she was the associate concertmaster for the Africa United Youth Orchestra, which performed in Carnegie Hall, New York, in 2024, as well as the co-concertmaster of the SICMF Symphony Orchestra in 2024.

Catherine was the recipient of the SASMT Gladwell bursary in 2021 and the SASMT Ellie Marx Bursary from 2022 to 2024 and has received multiple University bursaries. In 2023, she was a finalist in the Fine Music Radio Bursary Competition.

Catherine has a deep passion for ensemble and orchestra music. She has been an active participant in the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival for the past nine years and has been a part of the festival’s faculty since 2018. She has received masterclasses from renowned musicians such as Marc Bouchkov, Alissa Margulis, Gareth Lubbe, Madeline Atkins, Daniel Rowland, Fredericke Saeijs, Andrey Baranov and Boris Brovtsyn.

Jana Smit

Jana Smit completed her BMus degree as a student of Jeanne-Louise Moolman in Bloemfontein and won a tutti viola position in the Cape Town Philharmonic even before completing her studies. She has now been a member of the CPO for the past 3 years and is currently in the second year of a Postgraduate Diploma in Viola under the tutelage of Petrus Coetzee.

Jana has attended many prestigious chamber music festivals such as Stellenbosch International Music Festival, the Gauteng Chamber Music Festival and Youth Virtuoso Chamber Collective. Recently she attended the Konz Music Festival in Germany, where she received masterclasses from international artists such as Richard Wolfe, Elisabeth Perry and the award winning Barbican quartet. She has also participated in masterclasses with Tatjana Masorenko, Xandi van Dijk, Gerhard Korsten and Marc Sabbah. As a chamber musician, she is a regular player for chamber music ensembles such as CMAC and the Cape town Baroque ensemble.

José Dias

Portuguese-born pianist José Dias is a regular presence in all major concert halls and arts festivals in South Africa. Recent performances have taken him to various countries in Africa, Europe and China, with appearances in such historic halls as the Berliner Philharmonie, Münchner Philharmonie, Beethovenhalle in Bonn, among many others, as well as recent performances at the Shanghai Symphony Hall and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

José is in high demand as soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist, and has been the musical director of Cape Town Opera’s acclaimed touring productions of African Angels, African Passion and Horizons, and its productions of Viardot’s Cinderella, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore and Bon Appétit! Most recently he was musical director for the world premiere of Conrad Asman’s opera Trial by Media, based on the trial of Oscar Pistorius, alongside Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine as well as Triptych, showcasing three one-woman short operas including Arnold Schoenberg’s iconic Erwartung.

He wrote new music and took the musical direction of Piekniek by Mpande, a reimagining of the protest cabaret Piekniek by Dingaan, as well as for the 2019 Fleur du Cap Awards ceremony. He has been the recipient of several awards from festivals such as Woordfees, KKNK, Aardklop, as well as two kykNET Fiëstas. He was musical director for Master Class, CTO and Pieter Toerien’s hit-production of Terrence McNally’s play, where he also took the role of “Manny” the accompanist, alongside CTO singers led by the legendary South-African actress Sandra Prinsloo as Maria Callas. His performance earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the Toyota SU Woordfees in 2023.

José is an avid promoter of contemporary music, having premiered works by composers such as Conrad Asman, Hendrik Hofmeyr and Alexander Johnson. He was also the musical director for Braam du Toit’s soundtrack to Oliver Hermanus’ feature film Moffie, among other cinematic productions. José is a sought-after piano teacher whose students regularly perform around South Africa and abroad, and vocal coach, mentoring and collaborating with many of the leading South African singers. He is a part-time teacher at Rustenburg Girls’ High School and a part-time lecturer at Stellenbosch University’s Music Department, working within the voice and choral conducting divisions.

Rosamund Roth

Rosamund Roth was born in Pretoria and started her musical education at an early age. She attended Pro Arte High School for the Arts and went on to obtain her BMus from the University of Stellenbosch, where she studied under Magdalena Roux. There, she also completed honours degrees in both Latin and English Literature. During her studies, she played with professional orchestras like the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra on a regular basis as an ad hoc player.

Her  cello studies next took her to Zürich, Switzerland, where she joined the class of Prof. Roel Dieltiens. She obtained a Masters in Music Pedagogy, as well as a Masters in Transdisciplinary Studies from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. During this time, she was very active as a teacher in St. Gallen, Appenzell and Zurich, and as a performer all around Switzerland. She was also co-principal cellist of the Zürcher Kammerphilharmonie for six years.

During the Covid pandemic, she started playing the viola da gamba after developing a great passion for early music, and took private lessons with Paolo Pandolfo in Basel. In 2022 she returned to Cape Town to join the CPO as a full-time member, and to focus on a career as a performer on the cello, the baroque cello and the viola da gamba.

Zanelle Britz

Zanelle Britz was born in Windhoek, Namibia, and moved with her family to Bloemfontein at the age of six. There, she started cello lessons with Tilla Henkins and in later years she also took up the flute as well as the double bass under the tutelage of Peter Guy.

She went on to do a BA degree in Media Studies at the University of the Free State, all the while keeping her music activity by continuing with music lessons, performing with the Free State Symphony Orchestra and various ensembles at the Odeion School of Music.

She was approached to serve as double bass lecturer in at the Swakopmunder Musikwoche in 2013, and from there on the opportunity arose to go and study with bassist and conductor, Alexander Fokkens, at the South African College of Music at UCT, where she obtained a post graduate diploma in double bass performance in 2016. That same year she auditioned for a tutti position with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, of which she still is a member.

In 2017 she spent three months in the United States receiving lessons from Prof Nicholas Scales at West Texas A&M University and attended the International Society of Bassists Convention in Ithaca, New York. She also took part in summer bass camps all the way from Texas, through Kansas to Alaska, learning from pedagogues such as Jeff Bradetich, Francois Rabbath and Johnny Hammil.

Over the years she has also taught cello and double bass at various schools in Cape Town, and is currently the double bass teacher at St Cyprian’s High School. Orchestral and ensemble playing has always been Zanelle’s first love, and she has toured throughout South Africa and Namibia, playing in various orchestras. She also still enjoys playing the cello, as well as bass guitar in church.

Zoë Coetzee

Zoë Coetzee is a permanent member of the Cape Town Philharmonic and is currently enrolled for a MMus degree in violin performance at Stellenbosch University. She completed her undergraduate BMus degree in 2022 with honours and has been a student of Dr. Suzanne Martens since 2014. During her school career, she competed in eisteddfods and national competitions in both violin and piano. In 2022, Zoë participated in the open category of the Stellenbosch National Ensemble Competition with her string quartet and received the runner-up prize. She was also a finalist in the 2023 Mabel Quick Overseas Bursary Competition.

Zoë has participated in and led numerous ensembles. In 2016, she played in the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and took part in the annual Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival from 2014 until 2022. She was the concertmaster of the University of Stellenbosch String Ensemble in 2021 and of the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra in 2022, also appearing several times with the Stellenbosch University Camerata orchestra. She is also an ad hoc violist for the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra. In August of 2024, Zoë was selected to be one of the three representatives of South Africa at the Festival of the World Youth Orchestras in Moscow, where she performed under the baton of Maestro Yuri Bashmet.

In August of 2022, Zoë attended the MusicAlp summer course in Tignes, France, where she received daily lessons from Jan Repko and, during her participation of the Musikkurswochen in Arosa, Switzerland (2023), she received daily lessons from Prof. Priya Mitchell. She has also had the opportunity to receive public master classes from Madeline Adkins, Alissa Margulis, Daniel Roland and Mark Bouchkov.