About Me
Babette Roosenschoon (DMus, LLB) is a cellist who enjoys a career as teacher and performer. Her cello has taken her travelling across Europe, Southern Africa and to the USA, where she has performed, toured, studied and taught.
The short story
I am a cellist who loves to perform, teach and lecture. With a DMus in Cello Performance, I worked as a cellist in the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in a permanent position for 8 years before joining the faculty at Stellenbosch University as a part-time lecturer. After studying abroad and travelling across continents with my cello, I am now based in Stellenbosch, where I actively teach and perform. Having recently completed an LLB, my teaching philosophy integrates musicianship and cellist skills with sound legal career guidance.
The long story
I hold a DMus in performance from the North-West University, during which I studied and learnt sonatas by female composers and had the opportunity to showcase my academic proficiency in a concentrated timeframe. Before that, I received an MMus from Stellenbosch University, under the tuition and mentorship of Dalena Roux, who introduced me to a nurturing teaching style and a much-needed introduction to body awareness while playing the cello. My formative school years on the instrument were guided by Human Coetzee at the NWU Conservatory in Potchefstroom, where I gained many youthful opportunities to perform in concerts, competitions and to tour with youth and professional orchestras locally and abroad.
After the completion of BMus at Stellenbosch University and winner of selected awards and bursaries, I headed to Europe to further my studies at Universität Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria) with the esteemed Heidi Litschauer, who has taught a legacy of South African cellists in her cello studio over the years. Here my initial introduction to the Alexander Technique was developed and settled as I worked my way through hordes of technical work, and took on many opportunities to collaborate and perform with fellow students and university ensembles. Further post-graduate studies at the University of North Texas (Denton, Texas) with the late Eugene Osadchy and Baroque cello with Allen Whear, lead to several performances with representative ensembles of the College of Music, as well as the opportunity to regularly perform with Richardson Symphony Orchestra. Osadchy’s humourous but “no nonsense” teaching style drove me to put to use my meticulously accumulated musical knowledge in a varied and fast-paced performance schedule.
Having won a tutti cello position with Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra when I was 24, I returned to South Africa in 2011 after my studies in USA, to continue playing with the orchestra until 2016, which included performances with many renown soloists such as Joshua Bell, Andrea Bocelli, Mischa Maisky and Sarah Chang, among others. Thereafter, I eagerly joined the faculty at Stellenbosch University as part-time cello lecturer – finally, making a complete circle back to my enthusiasm for teaching, sharing and conveying knowledge.
With an interest in law and the realisation that my colleagues and fellow musicians were equally legally unknowledgeable and unequipped (to their frustration and detriment), I decided to enrol for some part-time studying and completed an LLB (UNISA) at the end of 2020. Now with this new field of knowledge, I intend to integrate the music legal sphere in my teaching philosophy as well as offering legal services in the creative arts. And bearing this is mind, I currently serve as legal counsel on the boards for the South African Strings Foundation and Flat Mountain Project, where I to further my vision of creating a platform for strings collaboration, skills advancement and the promotion of South African composers. Additionally, I also serve as a director of The Aleit Academy, and legal counsel of The Aleit Group.
I value the capacity and potential of cello tuition and mentorship, with a unique teaching philosophy encompassing not only developing musicianship and technical capability, but also body awareness, career and legal guidance.
As a keen chamber musician, I am cellist of the Juliet String Quartet. Our album “MAIKE” was nominated for a SAMA and as Symphonic Distribution’s ‘Artist of the Year’. We are planning our next recording in 2025 featuring more South African compositions, in line with our mission to create a platform for South African composers. And as for orchestral playing, I continue to freelance with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and Cape Town Baroque Orchestra, who both have extensive and exciting concert schedules.
In my home life, I am a mother of two daughters (Juliet and Sofie) and wife to entrepreneur, Hans Roosenschoon. Being a person with diverse interest fields, I delight in many aspects outside of my career whether it be academic-driven or adventure-driven or just simply enjoying the Cape Winelands surroundings and offerings.
I play on a beautiful, bold cello made by Bronek Cison in 2024 in Chicago, IL, USA.