ABOUT RENATE

Renate Riedemann is an accomplished violinist and established musician in the South African music industry. Born and raised in Cape Town, she completed her B.Mus degree at the prestigious University of Stellenbosch with distinction and went on to receive her Honours degree in Musical Performance (Violin) the following year. Under the guidance of violinist Suzanne Martens, Renate was appointed as concertmaster of the University’s Symphony Orchestra in 2007 and honoured with several awards and bursaries for musical performance as well as academic achievement.

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In 2010 she was invited to audition as electric violinist in the award-winning instrumental pop group, Sterling EQ. She was appointed and began to travel extensively as part of the band, performing at local and international high profile events such as the MTN South African Music Awards, Dubai World Travel Awards, FIFA Congress Opening Ceremony and the Gary Player Invitational to name a few. Throughout her three years in Sterling EQ they enjoyed widespread attention in various magazines, radio and television programs such as Top Billing, Expresso, ETV Sunrise, Kwêla, Sistahood and Idols. In 2012 the band was offered a record deal at EMI and released a successful album named Pulse, on which Renate performed extensively. It went on to win a Ghoema Award and a Huisgenoot Tempo Award for Best Instrumental Album 2013.

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Renate has a proven track record as seasoned session musician, having recorded for a vast number of artists and working alongside some of the finest producers in South Africa. Her violin playing can be heard on over a 100 recordings as well as several film scores, including the local Klein Karoo 1 film composed by well-known SA producer, Helmut Meijer. In her capacity as session violinist, she regularly performs as feature violinist with musical icons such as Watershed, Louise Carver & frontman of Prime Circle, Ross Learmonth.

 

Approached by esteemed guitar maestro and celebrated composer/producer, Mauritz Lotz, Renate performed as soloist on his collaboration album called Kaleidoscopic. 

 

Renate also formed part of the live band at the 2015 Fiësta Awards under the direction of Janine Neethling and Ian von Memerty. In March the same year she had the opportunity to perform at the Cape Town Stadium as part of the string section for international jazz sensation, Michael Bublé.

 

Combining her love for music and business, she founded a boutique music booking agency called Resound Music in 2016. As small business owner, Renate does everything from artist management, music coordination, website designing, content writing and marketing.

 

Renate is also affiliated with Red Cello Productions, a pioneering company in corporate and event entertainment. Under their prestigious brand she regularly performs as soloist in eye-catching staging concepts such as “The Bubble”, "The Blossom Dress", "The Galaxy Dress" and "The Red Carpet Dress". 

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As trained violinist, Renate discovered a new musical outlet in 2011; singing! Bursting with passion to cultivate this new talent, the UK songwriting duo Tony Hiller and Dave McGerty from Hyde Park Music together with Tania McGerty composed a song especially for Renate. She was then approached by Sony SA to form part of an Afrikaans folk group, Dogters Van Man, as vocalist and violinist. The band received significant media attention after their single "Die Gras Is Altyd Groener" reached the number one spot on various radio charts. Unfortunately the group disbanded after Sony Nostalgie was terminated abruptly due to corporate restructuring within Sony SA.

 

She went on to record a pop song under the guidance of Jean-Pierre Steyn. The single “What Do You Say” received significant airplay on several national and regional radio stations. In her capacity as vocalist, the independent record company, StoneBear & Mayor, hand-selected her talent to feature on a single called "Another Storm".

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Her voice has received great reviews by esteemed people such as Sasha Martinengo and Mike Batt amongst others.

 

“That is sensational” – Sasha Martinengo with regards to “Summertime”

“Lovely voice” – Mike Batt with regards to “You Make The Angels Smile”