Lize Briel
Freelance Composer
Lize Briel is an internationally award-winning composer known for work in film, installation, and contemporary concert music. Based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, she is drawn to themes of environment and identity, and often integrates African instruments into her compositions.
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Lize won the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra Composers’ Award in 2024. This makes her the first woman composer to win a South African composition prize. Briel’s work has received international recognition: Lize placed Top 5 in Africa in the European Recording Orchestra Call-for-Scores in 2025 and she recieved third price at the international art competition #CreateCOP28 with ArtPartner in 2023 for her impactful work addressing societal issues. Her composition, Ocean Soundscape, was showcased at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in December 2023.
Echoes: a minimalist dialogue
I'm thrilled to share the performance of my composition, Echoes, at the Rolf-Liebermann Studio in Hamburg, Germany performed by the Junge Norddeutsche Philharmonie under the baton of conductor Daniel Keet. A heartfelt thank you to the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra for the opportunity to perform in Germany after winning the SA Composers’ Award.
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Echoes: A minimalist dialogue is comprised of two movements, wherein I explore the integration of the uHadi within the orchestral framework, rather than assigning it a soloist role. The title reflects the piece's approach, drawing on minimalist structures and rhythms while employing thematic motifs that reverberate across different instrumental sections throughout both movements.
Tessellation
Building on ideas from my award-winning piece Echoes where I integrated the uHadi into the orchestra, this composition treats the Kiganda not as additions to the ensemble but as an orchestral voice. In Kiganda music, at least two musicians play interlocking parts — never at the same time, but in the spaces left by the other — creating a flowing, continuous melody. This principle shaped Tessellation, where musical lines interact like puzzle pieces, fitting together to form a larger whole. As you listen, notice how the main theme, inspired by Kiganda music, shifts and transforms — just like tessellated patterns evolving across a surface — until the full composition emerges as a vibrant, interconnected design.
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A beautiful performance by Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Thank you for this opportunity!
