Bertha egnos biography for kids

South African musician, director and composer

Bertha Egnos (1 January 1913 – 2 July 2003) was a South African musician, director, and composer in musical theatre, best known as the co-creator and director of Ipi Tombi.

Early life

Bertha "BeBe" Egnos was born and raised in a Jewish family in a suburb of Johannesburg. She was always musical, and left school as a young teen to start playing piano in a performing group. Around 1934 she left South Africa to work for the BBC in London; she also studied jazz piano with Reginald Foresythe while she was in England, and made a few solo recordings.^[1]

Career

Egnos returned to South Africa by 1936.

Online biography for kids

During World War II, she started and led an all-woman Drum and Bugle Band. She also started writing and directing swing music revues, with titles including Swing 1939 and Swing 1941. After the war, she wrote musical comedies.

Among her shows were Bo-jungle (1959), Dingaka (1961), Eureka! (1968), and