Kirsten Skippers

Kirsten Skippers is a 23 year old performing pianist, composer and arranger based in Retreat, Cape Town, which is also the home of South Africa's great Winston Mankunku Ngozi. Her talent was discovered at a young age by her parents and had underwent classical training first under the great Reginald Dreyer who performed alongside the Cape Philharmonic and later ventured into jazz under the mentorship of Lenrick Boesack and Dianne Gordon at one of the prestigious art-focused colored schools in the Western Cape, South Peninsula High.

She graduated from The South African College of Music in Jazz Performance last year and is set on making her solo appearances onto the jazz scene of today by leading her quartet which consists of Muneeb Hermans (trumpet), Kurt Bowers (kit) and Sibusiso Matsimela (double bass). The quartet had made its debut performance last year at a venue Selective Live in Cape Town and has recently performed at The Blue Room last month. The vision of the quartet is to draw audience into a musical journey that is brought to life through demonstrating expression through jazz and that tells a story.

Her main highlights so far is working and performing alongside Afrika Mkhize in 2019 at the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festival in Makhanda and at the Joy of Jazz in Sandton as well. She was also the you gest participant at age 16 to partake in The Artscaoe Youth Jazz Festival in 2015. While performing on various stages in Cape Town, she has also performed alongside other well-known musicians in Cape Town. She currently focuses on celebrating her ethnicity by emerging onto the young and local scene of today and hopes to become one of the country's progressive young pianists and composers one day.