Music teacher turns pop artist
Kingsmead College pupils may know her as Ms Snyman, but what many may not know is that this teacher is aiming for pop-star status.
Mia Snyman is a music school teacher by day, and a pop artist with a fresh new sound the rest of the time.
Snyman is a violinist and part of a pop-influenced string quartet called The Muses, which is made up of Craighall Park resident and violinist Olivia Kotze, viola player Ruby Ngoasheng, and cellist Laetitia van Wyk.
The women are all qualified and trained in classical music.
Talking to Snyman it’s evident that from a young age her life has been about music.
“My parents invested in my music career from when we lived in a small town called Thabazimbi. They would drive me to Pretoria every second Saturday for my music lessons,” she explained.
“At first I wasn’t too pleased that I couldn’t play with the other children on weekends but now I understand the sacrifices that were made for me – I’ve been in music now for 22 years.”
With a busy teaching schedule and being a music therapist, it’s a mystery as where she gets the energy to be an artist, too.
“My pupils love that I am a Muse but I had to learn to balance all these different facets of my life, which I must admit is a bit difficult,” she said.
Snyman’s journey with The Muses began in 2011 when she and her friends decided to take their music to a more commercial level.
She describes the group’s music as ”pop-on-strings” and their job as “an absolute passion”.
The Muses will perform with British 80s group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featuring Phil Bates, in February.
“I’m very excited to play with the first band to have played modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones,” she said.
“We are busy with preparations; I’m feeling a little intimidated but I know that playing with ELO will be a wonderful experience.”
