Cellist Ané Prins is a first-year Stellenbosch University music student and makes her debut at the 2026 National Youth Music Competition (NYMC) from 1 to 5 December at the Endler Hall in Stellenbosch.
The 19-year-old rising star comes from George in the Western Cape, and says simply that her love for music motivated her to enter the 2026 NYMC. “I think that this will be a great opportunity to learn, grow and build on my current skill level, challenge myself, meet new people in the industry, and to stay motivated with the help of some healthy competition.”
According to her, the musical gene comes from her mother’s side of the family. Her great-grandparents were church musicians; both singers, organists and pianists. Ané’s mom is involved with church music as a singer and pianist. Her brother is also musical with a history of playing the piano, violin and guitar.
At a very young age, her mother taught her how to play the piano. Her formal piano lessons started at the age of six with Surika Louw. Five years later, she started with cello lessons under Jessica Louw. Nowadays Babette Roosenschoon is her cello tutor.
Ané says she started to focus on the cello when she was 16-years old. “Before that, I taught myself to play saxophone and some random guitar chords (which I have probably forgotten), and I can barely play piano anymore,” she laughs.
The cello is without a doubt her favourite musical instrument.
There are many famous cellists and musicians that she looks up to. They include Steven Isserlis, Sol Gabetta, Mischa Maisky and Anastasia Kobekina. Locally, she has immense respect for her music teacher and Dr Peter Martens. “They inspire me with every interaction we have.”
According to the emerging star, she tries to practise four to six hours per day, depending on her schedule. Apart from her passion for music, she loves spending time in nature. She has done her scuba diving courses up to Advanced Open Water level, and enjoys writing, poetry, as well as photography.
Ané says it is impossible to only name one favourite composer. Her current favourites are German composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms. She also enjoys the works of Gustav Mahler, Antonín Dvořák and Camille Saint-Saëns.
“Their passion for music can be heard in every single note. I love playing Bach, even though I find it very challenging to perform, and I really enjoy listening to all of these composers' works, especially their heavy and intense pieces.”
She loves teaching and wants to do that in future at some point. After university, she would love to go overseas to gain experience, playing along with other musicians, whether in orchestras or chamber groups.
“I will most probably return to South Africa after a while. The ultimate dream would be to bring classical music back to my hometown, George. There is so much young talent, yet not enough opportunities to foster it. I would love to open a music school there one day,” she enthuses.
If she could be an animate object, Ané would like to be an old film camera.
“I would be able to capture beautiful moments without any distraction. Then my film can be developed. The photographer impatiently waits in anticipation to see how the pictures turned out. This way I'll cause some kind of dopamine spike and maybe teach people to have some patience in the process and prove to them that good things can come from waiting,” she explains.
She describes herself as passionate, and her motto in life is: “The journey shapes the destination.”