(Cathy Peacock. Val Adamson)
The fourth artist in Publicity Matters ‘Love the Arts’ is the sonorous trumpet player, Cathy Peacock. She is the founding member of Platform Jazz and is a full time member of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic.
Peacock started playing when she was nine. Her dad was teaching her brother and she quite fancied playing, too, so she did and never looked back. She studied trumpet in the 80s at UKZN, then started with the KZNPO since ’88, joining them full time in July 1990.
She has performed with the KZNPO in London at the Barbican; in Bremen in 2004, at the Place de la Republique in Paris and also in Marseille. Her music has allowed her to tour all around the country, playing at the State Theatre, Artscape, Hilton Arts Festival and at least eight times at the National Arts Festival. She has been a guest with various orchestras and played with Mario Monteregge’s big band Music Unlimited. She has graced the stages of Barnyard, Heritage, Rhumbelow Theatres, Rockwood, performed at churches, schools and even private parties. In her spare time for the last 16 years, she helps run the KZN Youth Orchestra with Lyk Temmingh.
Peacock will be playing a recital with Margrit Deppe-Mutsaerts and Sabine Baird in Rosetta on February 13 and 14, 2021.
What do you love about performing?
I love playing the trumpet but especially
swing music. I enjoy the challenge of playing as perfectly as possible in
classical music, but I love the vibe in my soul from swing jazz but really
enjoy clever arrangements and improvisations. It is joyous and uplifting and
resonates with my whole being. Playing music defines me.
When last did you play for a live audience?
Maggie Deppe and Sabine Baird played a
recital at St Thomas Church at the end of September that started off a series
of chamber concerts at St Thomas Church. I played the second of these concerts.
As a musician we need to practice regularly but one gets tired of doing the same mundane routine exercises with no goal. The recital gave me purpose and a reason to practice. I loved it.
I put it together with Andrew Warburton, two Anglican church organists - John Ward and Mervyn Payne - and a couple of my trumpet students and a young bass trombonist. The concert was as full as it could be - 130 people -which was 50% capacity of the church - St Thomas Church in Musgrave. The following month, I facilitated and played keyboard with the KZN youth orchestra at the same venue. The public were so excited to have a live performance to attend.
Where would you most like to perform?
I would love to do a Platform Jazz concert
at Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town.
We have performed outdoors in Durban a few times and it is fabulous to play for a few thousand people! It really gives you a buzz. I have performed at a few such events with the KZNPO such as the Durban Country Club and at Starlight Pops at the Chris Saunders Park at Gateway.
One day it would be fantastic to perform in Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London! It’s good to dream big, isn’t it!
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