Department of Music

Nontokozo F. Sihwa is an interdisciplinary composer, sound designer and music technologist. A mathematician by training, she brings both a boundless curiosity and exacting precision to her work: she developed a “pirate AI” opera as a Fellow of CTM Festival in Berlin, and led a workshop on radio transmitter building at Moogfest in North Carolina. Nontokozo has contributed sounds and music to a range of projects including releases on AD93, NON Worldwide and Optimo Music, installations for Hyperdub and the Institute of Contemporary Arts; and scores for Channel 4 and the National Theatre of Scotland. In 2021, she won the Oram Award for innovation in music and sound technologies, and she draws on her interest in new music technologies to create her otherworldly and distinctive music.

Nontokozo has performed at numerous festivals and events across Europe and North America including Berlin Atonal, CTM Festival, Minimal Music Festival in Amsterdam, the Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Les Nuits Botaniques in Brussels and Universo Assisi in Italy.  She has also lectured and given workshops at universities and cultural institutions including Berklee College of Music, Slade School of Fine Art, Moogfest, Creative Europe's SHAPE Platform, Somerset House Studios, Tate Britain and the V&A Museum. 

She studied mathematics at McGill University and the University of Glasgow, where she was a prize-winning student. Clients for syncs and commissioned work include Burberry, Star Alliance and the Royal Docks. She was featured in the FACT Magazine and British Council Documentary, Sonic Futures.