(Sidney Rash &
Linda Sekhakhane)
Two young jazz musicians from KwaZulu-Natal will be pulling
out all the stops to secure a place in the finals of the SAMRO Overseas
Scholarships Competition, which will go down to the wire in Johannesburg in
mid-August.
Saxophonist Linda Sekhakhane and drummer Sidney Rash are two
of the six semi-finalists in the Jazz Music category of this illustrious annual
music competition, which this year focuses on instrumentalists. Both studied
jazz at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and both have their sights set on a
R200,000 scholarship to further their music studies abroad.
On August 18, Linda and Sidney will join fellow young jazz
prodigies Keenan Ahrends, Justin Bellairs, Siyasanga Charles and Benjamin
Jephta to compete before a high-level judging panel during the semi-final round
of the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition.
The six semi-finalists in the Western Art Music category - Matthew
Lombard, Sally Minter, Neil Robertson, Tatiana Thaele, Myles Roberts and Dylan
Tabisher - will also be going all out to
deliver their A-game on the day.
Two Jazz and two Western Art Music
instrumentalists will then be selected to perform in the final round: a public
concert – always an immensely entertaining and highly charged affair – at the
Linder Auditorium in Parktown on August 20.
The glittering prize all 12
semi-finalists have their sights set on consists of two R200,000 scholarships
from the SAMRO Foundation to further their music studies abroad, plus several
additional awards.
Linda Sikhakhane is a saxophonist, composer and arranger. He
was born in Umlazi, where his love for music, especially jazz, was triggered at
an early age. He attended music classes and started performing professionally
at the age of 15, before studying jazz at the University of KwaZulu-Natal under
Professor Mageshen Naidoo. Now based in Johannesburg, Linda has played with
respected South African and international artists such as Barney Rachabane,
Brian Thusi, Feya Faku, Marcus Wyatt, Gregory Potter and Malcolm Braff, as well
as at several jazz festivals. He played tenor saxophone on Nduduzo Makhathini’s
recent album and forms part of Afrika Mkhize’s septet.
Sidney Rash is quickly becoming an
in-demand session drummer, and has worked with premier South African and
international artists (including Barry Gibb, French Montana, Paul Potts and
Darius Brubeck). He is known for his musicality and versatility on the drums,
and graduated his Honours degree summa cum laude from the University of
KwaZulu-Natal in 2008. Sidney has an ability to work in a range of styles,
always bringing phenomenal energy to any project he is a part of. He also
teaches drums in Durban and is passionate about seeing the next generation of
musicians achieve the very best that they can.
This is Sidney’s second stab at the SAMRO
Overseas Scholarships Competition: he made it through to the final round in
2008 where, aged just 21, he was named runner-up in the Jazz category.
To find out more about attending the
finals of the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition at the Linder Auditorium
on August 20 2016, email naseema.yusuf@samro.org.za.
For tickets to the finals, visit https://www.webtickets.co.za/event.aspx?itemid=1464205541.
Visit www.samrofoundation.org.za
for more information on the SAMRO Foundation’s programmes and projects, or
follow @SAMROFoundation on Twitter and Facebook.
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