(iGrandi
Tenori: Mlindi Pato & Timothy Sehau)
Final Friends of Music concert for the year
featured the fine voices of tenors Mlindi Pato and Timothy Sehau. (Review by
Caroline Smart)
For its last concert of the year, Friends
of Music presented Christmas Music Extravaganza
on December 18, 2018, at the Durban Jewish Centre. In a change from the normal row
format, audiences were seated at tables and were permitted to bring in their
own food. This made for an elegant supper theatre evening which was well received.
The concert was presented in association
with the fast-growing and highly popular group, iGrandi Tenori, featuring the
fine voices of tenors Mlindi Pato and Timothy Sehau who have won competitions national
and internationally. The company is headed by its pro-active Executive Director,
Kwazi Mhlongo, and Artistic Director Sanele Mkhize provided excellent piano
accompaniment along with the Le Lounge Strings.
Guest artists were sopranos Nontobeko
Bhengu and Dorh Mfayela; mezzo soprano Phindile Cele and baritones Philani
Mdima and Sbani Mwelase. Well-known personality Thokozani
MaMkhize-Ndlovu was the MC for the evening.
Pato and Sehau started the programme, beautifully
matched in When Jesus Comes, to be
following by Christmas-styled numbers with the other soloists. A clear audience
favourite was Pie Jesu sung by Cele and
Mfayela, the latter also impressing with a poignant Mary Did You Know? Mwelase gave
Oh Danny Boy the emotion it required and Mdima handled Where e’er You Walk with sensitivity. Bhengu’s Ave Maria was clear-voiced and sincere.
Highlights from the whole group were The Lord’s Prayer and The Holy City.
The second half of the programme comprised
well-known Christmas carols and, while they were musically well-presented, I
would have preferred a little more joy and passion in pieces like Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Oh Come All Ye Faithful.
iGrandi Tenori is a non-profit making
company aiming at igniting hope for all art practitioners through creating
platforms that will foster opportunities to showcase skills. “We strongly
believe that young people are the future and therefore investing in their
development is of paramount. Hence, the company offers musical master-classes
to all schools across the province of KwaZulu-Natal under the theme Let Me Sing,” explains Mhlongo. Thathunyawo
Secondary Grade 12 pupil Philani Mdima and North West University music student Ntombikayise
Zwane were both winners in the 2018 competition. For more information or to contact iGrandi
Tenori, phone-+27 73 1938 032.
The first Friends of Music concert next
year will be on February 26 featuring the exciting solo pianist, the Indian-American
Pallavi Mahidhara who is on a return visit to South Africa to perform for the
KZN Philharmonic Orchestra. The Durban Jewish Centre will be undergoing
renovations and this recital will take place on a brand new floor and stage.
For more information on Friends of Music visit http://www.friendsofmusic.co.za/–
Caroline Smart
Posts
