(Das
Bundesjugendorchester, Bonn 2018. Photo by Selina Pfruener)
The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted
to host a one-off public-holiday afternoon concert featuring the astonishing
90-strong Bundesjugendorchester (BJO) / National Youth Orchestra of Germany in
the Durban City Hall on August 9, as the first concert of their nation-wide
South African tour.
Conductor Alexander Shelley is bringing the
BJO on tour to South Africa to mark the youth orchestra’s 50th anniversary. The
concert, on August 9, is being presented by the KZN Philharmonic in
collaboration with MIAGI (Music is a Great Investment).
“We are delighted to be hosting the BJO. It
is so exciting to have some of the next generation’s most promising young
musicians performing in our city. It perfectly complements our extensive youth
initiatives and Young Performers Project. I urge all young aspiring musicians,
as well as our loyal audiences to come and be inspired!” enthuses KZN
Philharmonic’s Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Bongani Tembe.
(Right: Msaki)
Soloist for the concert is South African
songstress Msaki - singer, songwriter and composer from East London - known for
her soulful folk. She delivers her music in raw fashion, while telling gentle
stories of love, loss, home, revolution and hope.
The National Youth Orchestra of the Federal
Republic of Germany (BJO) is based in Bonn and features accomplished young
musicians between the ages of 14 and 19 years old. Their repertory programme
comprises classical and romantic orchestral music and new works by composers
such as Hans Werner Henze and Karl Amadeus Hartmann. They have also performed
world premieres by among others, Peter Ruzicka and Bernd Franke, and
high-profile international showcase concerts such as sharing the stage with
Sting in 2010.
The young musicians qualify for membership
by auditioning in front of a jury. The orchestra works under the guidance of
private teachers, including members of the Berlin Philharmonic and their
respective conductor. Many former members now play in professional orchestras
and have become well-known soloists.
(Left: Conductor
Alexander Shelley. Photo by Thomas Dagg)
The concert will be under the baton of
Alexander Shelley - one of the most exciting conductors on the international
podium today. Born in London in October 1979, Shelley is the son of celebrated
concert pianists, studied cello and conducting in Germany. In August 2017 he
concluded his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Nürnberger Symphoniker, a
position he held since September 2009. In January 2015 he assumed the role of
Principal Associate Conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with
whom he curates an annual series of concerts at Cadogan Hall. He is also Music
Director of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and tours both nationally
and internationally.
On the programme is Walton’s Johannesburg
Festive Overture; Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Three
Sangoma Songs; A Symphonic Picture
– a 1942 album arranged by George Gershwin’s good friend Robert Russell Bennett
which includes most of the best known songs from the Gershwin opera, Porgy and Bess; and the cheery, almost
pastoral Symphony No. 2 by Brahms.
The tour of Das Bundesjugendorchester is
generously supported by the Foreign Office of Government of the Federal
Republic of Germany
The concert takes place in the Durban City
Hall at 16h00 on August 9, 2019.
This stand-alone concert takes place just
before the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra (KZNPO) opens its four-concert
2019 Spring Season, which runs in the Durban City Hall every Thursday from
August 22 until September 15, each concert starting at 19h30.
Tickets for both the BJO concert and the
KZN Philharmonic’s World Symphony Series 2019 Spring Season are available
through Computicket. Call 0861 915 8000 or book online at www.computicket.com.
For more information visit
http://kznphil.org.za/, email bookings@kznphil.org.za or call 031-369 9438
(office hours) or click on the orchestra’s advert at the top of this page.
The
full BJO SA tour details are:
9.08.2019
Durban City Hall
12.08.2019
Soweto, Morris Isaacson Center for Music
13.08.2019
Pretoria, University of Pretoria
14.08.2019
Stellenbosch, Spier Estate
15.08.2019
Cape Town City Hall: opening CPO’s
Aug–Sept Symphony Season
16.08.2019
Khayelitsha
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