Cape Town baritone Theo Magongoma was recently honoured with the prestigious Elizabeth Greenfield Award from a pool of 77 applicants from nine countries. The distinguished award is presented annually to a trail-blazing black singer who displays outstanding talent in the early stages of their international singing career.

'It is a lovely endorsement that I am on the right path."

This is the response from baritone Theo Magongoma after receiving the prestigious Elizabeth Greenfield Award as a testament to his hard work and dedication to not giving up on his dream of pursuing a career in music.

"It is thus a particularly special award for me to have won at this juncture in my career. I feel really honoured to have been chosen by the jury as a worthy recipient of this award out of all the applicants from around the world," Magongoma told Daily Maverick.

The award carries the significant historic legacy of Elizabeth Greenfield, a black opera singer in the 1800s who became known as "The Black Swan" and the first African-American singer to gain recognition in the UK, Europe and the US. Greenfield paved the way for black artists by maintaining an iconic image and giving back to the community by running a touring company for singers.

Township life introduced me to singing, it embraced strong musical traditions as part of its culture.

Magongoma was born in Alexandra in Johannesburg but grew up in rural Ezibeleni in the Transkei where he fell in love...