Pieter van Zyl completed a Master of Music (MMus) degree in Piano Performance at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth before pursuing his lifelong ambition of studying theatre abroad. Over time, he came to recognise that his artistic path would encompass more than one discipline, and he has sought to approach both music and theatre with the same commitment and integrity that either would demand on its own.

As a musician, Pieter’s primary focus has been classical piano. He studied with some of South Africa’s leading teachers, including Betsie Cluver, Neil Solomon and Catherina Struthers, and holds Performer’s Licentiates in Piano from both UNISA and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). In more recent years, he has developed a deep interest in the human voice, a discipline that complements and enriches both his musical and theatrical work. Under the guidance of Virginia Davids, he completed the ABRSM Performer’s Licentiate in Singing.

As an actor, Pieter completed a Licentiate at the Akademie van Dramakuns before specialising in the work of Etienne Decroux, whose approach to theatre places physical discipline at the centre of the actor’s craft. His studies took him to London, where he attended the École de Mime Corporel Dramatique; to Paris, where he studied at Project Hippocampe; and to California, where he worked with Thomas Leabhart at Pomona College. His principal teachers included Corinne Soum, Steven Wasson and Thomas Leabhart. He subsequently spent three years performing and touring with Théâtre de l’Ange Fou, then a London-based company under the direction of Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum.

Since returning to South Africa, Pieter has continued to grow, explore and share his work as a performer. As a pianist, he has released three CDs: Piano Works by César Franck; Piano and Chamber Works by South African composer Neil Solomon; and Sonatas for Cello and Piano by Brahms and Rachmaninoff, recorded with cellist Jacques-Pierre Malan. As a vocalist and voice artist, he released the CD Of Life, a collection of sacred and secular songs and poems reflecting on the human journey.

Pieter has also participated in numerous poetry and prose readings and has performed in radio dramas for Radio Sonder Grense. A particular highlight was the recording of all four novels in Carina Stander’s Die Bergengel series, a project that, intermittently, spanned nine years. His theatre credits include the one-man play A Woman with a Baby on Her Back, based on a short story by Athol Fugard and directed by Thomas Leabhart, and Goeienag, Edele Prins, a one-man adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet directed by Juanita Swanepoel.

Alongside his performing career, Pieter has taught music for many years. What began as a practical means of support has become a deeply rewarding vocation, enriching his life through the opportunity to share his knowledge, experience and love of the arts with others.