Meet Karen Schofield-Nel, UCT Choir Conductor and Artistic Director. 

As Music Director, Artistic Director, Music Lecturer, Choral Clinician, Adjudicator, Scholar, Karen Schofield - Nel’s work spans over a wide variety of ages, abilities, genres.

Her experience as an active Provincial Adjudicator, Choral Clinician, and Choral Pedagogue is vast.

She conducts professional choirs as well as works extensively with Adult and Children’s Community Choirs, of whom many are impoverished and disadvantaged, yet their determination and zeal to sing and develop their abilities in the face of adversity surmounts all challenges.

Karen has conducted The Symphonic Choir.

The University of Stellenbosch Academic Choir - Schola Cantorum.

The Cape Town Soloist Choir.

The Nelson Mandela University Choir; 

The 200 voice Festival of Hope Choir.

The 300 voice Johannesburg Choir.

She is currently the Founder and Music Director of The Peninsula Tabernacle Chorale in Cape Town.

Karen is the  first Person of Colour and First Woman to conduct The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

 Karen holds a Double Degree in both Music and Education (Thayer Conservatory, AUC - USA), M.Mus in Choral Conducting (Stellenbosch University), which has been transferred into a PhD in Music, which she is currently pursuing.

In her spare time, Karen is a culinary artisan. She has her own International cooking show where she creates and cooks vegetarian and plant-based recipes. The show is aired in Russia, USA, Australia, Germany, throughout Africa.

Karen is the Founder and CEO of a Whole Plant Based Program called A New Dawn.