The Soweto String Quartet emerged during the late 1980s around the nucleus of the three Khemese brothers -- violinists Sandile and Thami, and cellist Reuben. The sons of a conductor father and a choral-singing mother, the Khemese siblings attended their uncle's township music school, with Sandile and Reuben later serving as violinists with the Soweto Symphony Orchestra. During the early half of the 1980s, Sandile continued his studies in the UK, including a four-year stint at Manchester's Royal North College of Music; after returning to South Africa he taught at the Madimba Sc...