Matlhaela Michael Masote

Matlhaela Michael Masote (7 January 1941 – 26 May 2017), also known as Mike "Ntate" Masote and "Monna Wa Mmino" (Music Man), was a violinist, conductor and the founder of the first black youth orchestra in South Africa.

Early life Masote was born on 7 January 1941 in Sophiatown. He was the third-youngest of eight children. His mother Esther was a domestic worker, and his father Sekolo was a delivery man for a butchery.

In 1955, his family was forcibly removed from their home by the apartheid regime, and they moved to Soweto.

In 1964, he joined the Johannesburg Bantu Music Festival, becoming a cultural officer. He gave choir trainings and violin lessons, and was rewriting African music into orchestral format.

In 1998 Masote was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree by the University of South Africa, the first black South African to receive it. In 2005 he received an honorary licentiate in music there.

Prosecutions by apartheid Masote was often stopped and harassed by the police on suspicion of carrying a gun in his violin case. The police made him open the case, and then forced to play as a proof that the violin was not stolen. He played Sarie Marais. He conducted its first performance in 1983 at the Holy Cross Anglican church in Soweto. In 1996 he created a new version, "The South African Messiah", to commemorate the adoption of the democratic Constitution of South Africa. New version included all eleven official South African languages, by retaining elements of the original English libretto.

Awards The Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze for "Outstanding contribution to the development of youth orchestras and choral music in the classical genre in South Africa." (20 April 2006)

Legacy Masote established five youth orchestras: the Mmabatho Youth Orchestra, the Klerksdorp Youth Orchestra, the Soweto Youth Orchestra, the Thembisa Youth Orchestra and the Seventh Day Adventist Orchestra in Soweto.

SABC 2 screened a four-episode drama miniseries "Monna Wa Minno" ("Unsung Hero" in English version of the title) about the life of Michael Masote in 2012. The cast includes Vuyo Dabula as Masote and Lerato Mvelase as his wife Sheila.