(William
Charlton-Perkins. Pic by Clinton Marius)
(Andrew
Warburton stars in SASMT’s Gala Concert at Howard College Theatre on April 5. Photo
by Val Adamson)
Celebrating musical diversity
A range of artists headed by Durban's star
pianist Andrew Warburton appear in a Gala Concert to be presented by the South
African Music Teachers’ Association (SASMT) at UKZN’s Howard College Theatre on
Thursday April 5. The programme includes masterpieces by Beethoven, Ravel and
Brahms. The SASMT gala event, presented in collaboration with UKZN’s School of
Music, starts at 19h30. Tickets are R130 (R100 for students and pensioners).
The concert opens with Warburton playing
Beethoven’s challenging Bagatelles Opus 126, before being joined onstage by
soprano Vanessa Tait-Jones for a performance of Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs). The second half of the evening sees
Warburton collaborating with fellow pianist, Christopher Cockburn in a
rendition of the original two-piano version Ravel’s La Valse. The programme concludes with another masterpiece, Brahms’
Trio in E flat Major opus 40 for Piano, Violin and Horn, in which Warburton
teams with Violeta and Sorin Osorhean (KZNPO Acting Concertmaster and Principal
Horn respectively).
The Gala Concert is part of the SASMT’s
Centenary Conference, which runs in a number of Durban venues between April 5
and 7, under the banner, The Passion of
Music – Celebrating Diversity.
SASMT was initiated 100 years ago to create
a network for the promotion of a high standard of professional competence in
music teaching and to promote the continuous development of music educators.
SASMT invites all music teachers, musicians, students and lovers of music to
join it for this year’s inspiring and informative national conference.
Says Dr Rosalie Conrad, current National
President of SASMT and convenor of its 2018 Conference: “In keeping with the
theme and title of this year’s landmark event, we are delighted to have on
board a strongly representative range of leading music academics, teachers and
practitioners, who will cover the comprehensive programme we will be presenting
during the three-day event.
“Our roster of distinguished specialists
and their topics includes: Dr Patricia
Opondo (African Music); Dr Liezl-Marét Jacobs (The Music Teaching Environment);
Ronél Perks (Chamber Singing); Priscilla Crundwell (Writing Music Textbooks); Andrew
Warburton (Chamber Music with Piano); Vanessa Tait-Jones (Vocal Health); Sue
van Blerk (Business Ethics); Prof Chatradari Devroop (Contemporary Music
Education); Dr Liezl-Marét Jacobs (South African Piano Music); John Walton
(KZNPO Outreach); Iqbal Naroth (Indian Music); Marijke de Bruin (Music and
Emotional Intelligence); Dr Andrew-John Bethke (Sociology of Music); Richard
Haslop (Steel Guitar); and William Saunderson-Meyer (Jaundiced Eye) Gala Dinner
guest speaker.”
For information regarding presentation dates,
times and venues, full programme details, entrance rates and profiles of the
speakers, visit www.sasmt-savmo.org.za. For further enquiries, contact Heidi
van Schoor telephonically on 071 604 7056 or email heidisfriends@gmail.com.
Pianist Christopher Duigan is currently
performing a recital programme titled The
Magical Musical World of Claude Debussy, in recognition of this month’s
centenary of the French composer who died in Paris on March 25 1918. Duigan
performs iconic items such as Clair de
lune, Reflections on the Water, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Arabesque No 1, Reverie
and The Sunken Cathedral tomorrow
(Saturday March 24) and on Saturday March 31 at 'Casa Mexicana', 35 Montgomery
Drive, Athlone in Pietermaritzburg. His programme will be reprised at the
Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday (March 25) at 11h30; at St
Agnes Church in Kloof on Tuesday March 27 at 19h30; and at Amber Auditorium, Howick
on Thursday March 29 at 19h00. Booking is via email at booking@musicrevival.co.za
or on 083 417 4473 (sms or WhatsApp only). For more information visit
www.musicrevival.co.za.
Two choral masterworks are coming up on the
Durban music scene. This Sunday (March 25), the Durban Symphonic Choir and the
KZNPO perform Dvorak’s Mass in D in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Mariannhill.
Conducted by Naum Rousine, the performance starts at 15h00. Tickets are R130,
available on www.quicket.co.za, or at the door.
On Easter Sunday (April 1) The Playhouse
Company presents Handel’s Messiah in
the Playhouse Opera at 15h00. Directed by Ralph Lawson, this grandly staged
production features popular soloists - Khumbuzile Dhlamini (soprano), Violina
Anguelov (mezzo), Thabiso Masemene (tenor) and Aubrey Lodewyk (baritone) - with
the Playhouse Chorale and members of KZNPO performing under the expert baton of
British conductor Tim Murray, who is a Baroque music specialist.
Composed in 1741, Messiah was first performed in Dublin in April 1742. After what was
described as a ‘modest’ initial public reception, the oratorio gained in
popularity to the extent that it has long been one of the most frequently
performed choral works in Western music.
Highlights include magnificent choral items
such as the renowned Hallelujah Chorus,
along with equally splendid numbers such as For
Unto Us A Child Is Born, And The Glory of the Lord and many more, as well
as benchmark solos such as Every Valley, He
Was Despised, I Know That My Redeemer Liveth, O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings
To Zion, Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion, The Trumpet Shall Sound and Why Do The Nations So Furiously Rage
Together, to name but a few.
Booking for Messiah is at Computicket outlets. Book now to avoid
disappointment. Call 0861 915 8000 or book online at www.computicket.com.
Alternatively call Playhouse Box Office on 031-369 9540 (office hours). - William Charlton-Perkins
Posts
