(Conductor Richard Cock)
Stand by for the
Corobrik Orchestra 2014 concert, a major event on Durban’s music calendar
presented by the British Cultural and Heritage Association.
August 17 is a
red-letter date to diarize for musicians and music-lovers in and around Durban:
the British Cultural and Heritage Association (BCHA) present an exciting
programme of music-making in their eagerly awaited Corobrik Orchestra 2014
project. This will see a massed ad hoc orchestra performing under the baton of
South African maestro, Richard Cock, for many years a leading role-player on
our national music scene. The annual event includes the participation of the
Steel Drum and Field Band Foundations.
Corobrik Orchestra
2014 takes place in the Joosub Hall on the Westville Campus of the University
of KwaZulu-Natal from 14h30. Preceding this, a massed orchestra rehearsal will
be held between 11h00 and 14h00. As a curtain-raiser to the Main Concert, members
of the Field Band Foundation will show their paces between 14h30 and 14h5-,
followed by a 20-minute performance by the Steel Drum Foundation from 15h00.
The Main Concert
runs from 15h30 to 16h30, opening with the South African National Anthem. Items
to be heard on the bumper programme of concert show-stoppers include: the
thrilling opening sequence to Richard Strauss’s famous orchestral show-piece, Also Sprach
Zarathustra; Alford’s ever-green Colonel
Bogey March; Franz Lehar’s Gold and
Silver Waltz; the much-loved Nimrod
from Sir Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations;
a Tribute To Henry Mancini; and Carillon from Georges Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite.
This will be
followed by performances of three popular items, YMCA, No Matter What and O Sole
Mio, with the Steel Drums. The programme concludes with performances of Washington Post and Shosholoza.
All participants
must be able to read and play music. They are required to pay an entry fee of
R60 and to register to play either as individuals of as part of a group. Each
musician will be issued with a complimentary ticket for a family member or
friend to attend the event. Participants are encouraged to be as conversant as
possible with the prescribed music, to ensure that the concert will be an
amazing experience if everyone performs at their best, and delivers a
successful team effort.
Says conductor
Cock, the mastermind behind the project: “This annual event offers an
opportunity for aspirant musicians to gain an idea of what it is like to play
in an orchestra. Even though they don’t have professional experience, it is
amazing how things come together with just one intensive rehearsal session.
People with a range of skills get swept along by the overall impetus, and by
the overriding spirit of common endeavour. The stronger ones pull the weaker
ones along with them. We take no prisoners. Everyone has to play along, and our
audience is invariably astonished at what can be achieved under pressure.
Throughout my career, I have always tried to offer people the greatest amount
of enjoyment to be had out of making music. This is a prime example.”
Dirk Meyer,
Managing Director of Corobrik, says: “Orchestral sound has that unique ability
to bring people together, to evoke emotion, lift spirits, bring back memories,
create positive energy, cross cultural boundaries and provide pure enjoyment. It
is in that spirit Corobrik chooses to sponsor Orchestra 2014. For practicing
and amateur musicians and lovers of music alike it promises to be an
exhilarating experience not to be missed.”
To register to play
in Corobrik Orchestra 2014, call 031-2026174 or email bcha1820@global.co.za. Secure parking is available for
participants and audiences members alike. Seating is unreserved and tickets R70
(R50 pensioners, students & children) at the door,
The British Cultural and Heritage
Association offers sponsored tickets to the John Palmer Residence for the Blind
and the KZN Cerebral Palsy Association, as well as a number of children’s
homes, who greatly appreciate being part of this fun-filled afternoon..
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