Cape Philharmonic Outreach and Education

Outreach and Education

The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s Outreach and Education programme was started in 2003 as part of the orchestra’s Transformation Plan. The CPO’s teaching programme and schools outreach concerts started in 2003 and the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO) and Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble (CPYWE) were launched in 2004. This programme has expanded over the years to include:

CPO Music Academy:

The CPO music academy started 2012 with a formal registration day on the 14^th of January.

Music Staff at the CPO Music Academy

The academy has 11 ad hoc teachers and 16 CPO members that teach every Saturday.  Brandon Phillips also run a conductors class every Saturday with 13 CPYO members being trained for the Len van Zyl competition in 2013.   Laurika Steenkamp teaches all the different levels of theory.  Each learner has a group class for their level.  The Van Loggrenberg Theory books are partly sponsored All Music.

Currently this Academy is working at full capacity with each teacher teaching 6 – 8 learners.  We have requests daily for new members that want to join. Each term is concluded with a concert.

Nicole Kernell performing with Michelé Williams (CPO member and teacher)

Masidlale Music Project:

Masidlale performing at Artscape

In 2009, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra started the Masidlale Music Project in the townships of Gugulethu and Nyanga to provide children with instrumental training in their area – irrespective of financial means or background. The projected has grown to include 4 satelites:

1. Hlengisa Secondary School  (Nyanga)

http://plak.co.za/moreinfo.php?id=21548

Tembisa Ntshongontshi is the Violin Teacher and Project Manager at Hlengisa Secondary assisted and trained by our project manager Maria Botha.  Thembisa  (28) who started as a violinist in the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra a few years ago.

Tembisa was born in the Transkei in the Eastern Cape in 1985 and moved to Khayelitsha, Cape Town, in 1986. She attended Lwandle Primary and Luhlaza High school, where she matriculated.

Her life had a sad twist in that she was a victim of crime at a young age, but she has changed her life around despite this bad experience.

Tembisa was introduced to the violin in 1997 through the MTN Music Project in Kuils River under the direction of Mr Ronnie Samaai, where she received group tuition. When she successfully auditioned for the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in 2003, she had achieved Grade 2 level. Although still involved with the MTN Music Project, Tembisa started one-on-one violin tuition with Michele Williams, the principal second violinist of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. Under Michele’s guidance, Tembisa has worked very hard and started showing her full potential and is currently at Grade 6 level and has graduated from the second violin to first violin position in the CPYO.

After matriculating, Tembisa worked at Edgars clothing store in order to support her family, but in 2009 her dream became a reality through the CPO’s community satellite teaching centres. Tembisa gave a day’s notice from Edgars to pursue her dream of becoming a trainee-teacher in the Suzuki method of violin education in the townships of Nyanga and Gugulethu. Here she teaches 40 students between the ages of 6 and 10 years to play the violin. Tembisa participated in her first Suzuki Teaching Method training course in Johannesburg in December 2009 which was sponsored by the CPO study grant.  She is still receiving in-service training and will be participating in the Stellenbosch International Chamber Festival in July 2012.

Tembisa in action

Tembisa is very proud of what she has achieved.  She is not bitter about her past, but motivated to improve the lives of the young talented violinists in Nyanga and Gugulethu.

Tembisa is living proof of the healing power of music to overcome the most horrid of experiences!

Learners of Hlengisa Secondary School (Photo – Daniel Thierry)

 2. Sonwabo Primary School (Gugulethu)

http://plak.co.za/moreinfo.php?id=21524

Noluvuyo Nteta  is the Violin Teacher and Project Manager at Hlengisa Secondary assisted and trained by our project manager Maria Botha.  Noluvuyo started violin in 1999 with Kathy Garrity as part of the Ifidyoli Strings at Beau Soleil Music Centre.  In 2008 she became a member of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and has since been trained by the CPO in a skills transfer program to teach violin on the Suzuki Method.  She has already qualified for the Level 1 Suzuki teaching and will be completing her next level in 2013.  She will part of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Festival in 2012 and receive training from the best musicians in the country.  Noluvuyo plays in the Cape Philharmonic Youth String Ensemble that regularly perform at corporate functions and concerts.  She currently is co-leader of the CPYO and receives practical lessons from Michele Williams (CPO member).

Noluvuyo teaching at Sonwabo Primary

3. Siyabulela Primary (Langa)

https://plak.co.za/moreinfo.php?id=21838

Siyathemba Nteta  is the Violin Teacher and Project Manager at Siyabulelo Primary.  Siyathemba started violin in 1999 with his sister under Kathy Garrity as part of the Ifidyoli Strings at Beau Soleil Music Centre.  In 2008 he became a member of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and has since been trained by the CPO in a skills transfer program to teach violin on the Suzuki Method.  Siyathemba have completed his Susuki Level 1 Course in December 2012.  He is co-leader of the second violin section in the CPYO and plays in the Cape Philharmonic Youth String Ensemble.

Initially he wanted to became a soloist but soon found his calling as a violin teacher.  He is a true role model to his students and is loved and respected by them all. He receives violin lessons from Camilla Driver (CPO member).

Siyathemba in action at Siyabulela Primary School

4. Atlantis

The Atlantis string project is managed by Shaheema Lackay that qualified with Suzuki level 1 in December 2012.  The Cape Philharmonic has partnered with the Orion Foundation in Atlantis as they are well established within the community.  Priscilla Cloete (Orion) was instrumental in the logistics of setting up this project. http://www.orion-friendship.org/

Interest had to be created before the start of the project.  This was achieved by the CPO giving a free public concert in Atlantis.

CPO coming to Atlantis!

The concert, that forms part of the CPO Schools Outreach and Education Program, was well attended and the locals still talk about the visit.  Many had the opportunity to see a Philharmonic Orchestra perform for the very first time.  The children was introduced to the orchestra by the Cool Classic Kidz twins Milan and Lilo.  Two of the local children even got the opportunity to conduct the orchestra!

The CPO concert in Atlantis

Laurika Steenkamp (Outreach and Education Manager) introduces the different instruments of the orchestra

Our Masidlale Team:

The team consists of:

Laurika Steenkamp – Outreach and Education Manager at  the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra

Maria Botha – Suzuki Specialist

Noluvuyo Nteta – Sonwabo Primary

Siyathemba Nteta – Siyabulale Primary

Tembisa Ntshongontshi – Hlengisa Secondary

Shaheema Lakay – Atlantis

Working within an outreach environment is difficult but very rewarding.  To keep the projects momentum it is important to build a very strong team that can support each other in all facets.  The team has a weekly meeting to discuss logistics and training and meet termly for a team building session under the leadership of Laurika Steenkamp.

Maria Botha – Suzuki Specialist

For the past three years Maria Botha has been teaching and leading the Masidlale Project. She trains all the CPO emloyed violin teachers in the Suzuki method.  Examinations and training courses are presented by SUZUKI SA.

Suzuki Training course at University of Stellenbosch

On working in the township : “It was hard initially to get parents to support what we were doing and encourage their children,” Botha says. .

The Masidlale Music Project teaches about 120 pupils ages 5 to 12. Botha trained in Lyon, France, where she followed the Suzuki method of learning. She employs the same method in the township schools.

“It doesn’t really matter what instrument they learn. What is important is to learn the self-discipline and love for an instrument… Because of historical reasons, there aren’t enough black [classical] musicians, so we hope this will start to change that.”

Maria Botha

Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO)

Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO)

The Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra was launched in 2004 as part of the CPO’s development and transformation plan. Most of the members of the CPYO come from previously disadvantaged communities.  The Orchestra now have 55 members that rehearse every Saturday in Cape Town. The members of the professional orchestra are committed to a programme of teaching and training the young musicians through regular workshops, orchestra rehearsals and one-on-one tuition.

The CPYO regularly performs a curtain raiser for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra as well as perform side-by-side concerts.  They also form part of the Orchestra’s Summer Festival to which they drew a capacity audience at the Artscape Theatre in February in 2012.

Brandon Phillips (winner of the first Len van Zyl Conductors competition) has been appointed as their Artistic Director and Conductor in March 2012.  Recent performances include the Stellenbosch International Chamber Festival, Hugo Hambrecht’s Music Centre Orchestra Festival, Mercedes Benz SA Fashion Week,  Iziko Museum Youth Day Celebrations and the opening of the International congress of the HPCA at the Cape Town Convention Centre.  The orchestra performed with many well-known soloists in the music industry including Loyiso Bala, Zwai Bala, Ivan Siegelaar, Neville D, Magdaleen Minaar and the Soweto Gospel Choir. A DVD of their performance at the “Great Hymns of Faith” concert with Loyiso, Ivan and Neville D has been produced by well-known composer Bruce Retief that arranged all the music for this production. Bruce Retief (Annie Awards Nominated in 2013 for his music to the movie Zambezia) is composing a piece especially for the orchestra’s tour in 2013.

This year the orchestra members will have the honour to be coached by members of the world-renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in March.  Gala performances this year includes the opening of the World Paediatric Congress at CTICC, the Fleur du Cap Awards at Artscape, two concerts in Collaboration with Artscape (Woman’s Week, Africa Day), a Heritage Day concert at the V&A Waterfront and a tour  in September to Johannesburg Youth orchestra and  the Limpopo Youth orchestra.  The aim of this tour is to symbolically unite the Youth orchestras in South Africa to eventually share resources, conductors and sheet music.

Currently the orchestra is working with the reggae band “Trenton and the Free Radicals” on a video recording of their song, Mr Mandela.  This will be the first time that reggae and a classical orchestra work together on a production in South Africa.  It is in honour of Nelson Mandela who paved the way for a united country.  This orchestra most certainly represents our nation.  All the members agree – “we are a family, not just an orchestra”.

PLEASE LISTEN:  http://youtu.be/0HUlxYgvBJc

Brandon Phillips (the winner of the first Len van Zyl Conductors’ Competition) has been appointed as their Artistic Director and Resident Conductor in March 2012.  This year alone they will be performing at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Festival, Hugo Hambrecht’s Music Centre Orchestra Festival, Izeko Museum Youth Day Celebrations and the opening of the International congress of the HPCA at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble (CPYWE)

Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble

The Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble made their debut before a local audience on 1 May 2004 and has become a well-established group participating in many concerts with the CPO but also performing on their own.

The CPYWE is privileged to have Sean Kierman, the retired head of Brass (UCT) as its conductor. Sean Kierman started the wind band movement in South Africa in the 1960’s and brings a vast amount of experience to this programme.

Some of the CPYWE’s highlight performances in the past years have included participation in the Artscape Wind Band Festival and their international debut at the First Cape Town International Summer Music Festival. They have recently performed at the Waterfront and were part of the Greyton/Genadendal Classics for All Festival where they also presented a workshop to the local children of the Overberg.  In May 2012 they participated in the Windworx Fanfare in Cape Town and was awarded a Diploma (90% and higher) for their performance.  They will be performing their first curtain raiser for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

Contact details for CPO Outreach and Education:

http://www.cpo.org.za/

Laurika Steenkamp

Outreach and Education Manager

Tel +27 21 410 9982

Fax +27 21 425 1009

P O Box 4040, Cape Town 800

 

 

MORE ABOUT THE CPYO

TRIBUTE TO MANDELA As a tribute to Mandela, members of the CPYO and Trenton were on Hectic on SABC 2 on Mandela’s birthday last Thursday with the new DVD,  Mr Mandela. If you haven’t seen what is being released internationally, now’s your chance to watch it, click to watch: CONGRATS! Congratulations to the scholarship winners at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival earlier this month for study overseas: Chad Hendricks (conducting), who joins Daniel Raiskin in Germany in January next year,  Brandon Ruiters (trumpet) will be coached by Billy Ray Hunter, principal trumpet at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Emma Ferret (bass) will study with Jeff Bradetich, director of the double bass programme at the University of North Texas. Odile Lesch, who is a former CPYO member and the daughter of board member Felicity Lesch, was also awarded a scholarship to work with Frank Stadler in Salzburg. THE CPYO HAS NEW T-SHIRTS These divine t-shirts in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, and modelled here by Academy violin student Leila Niemand, are available at R100 for children and R150 for adults in  S, M, L, XL, XXL and can be bought from Laurika Steenkamp on laurika@cpo.org.za Leila Niemand

FOM and dress rehearsals The friends continue to support our orchestra and we thank them for that. Francisca Louw, well known to many of you, thanks to her dedication in all kinds of weather, will be there to greet those of you who like to attend the dress rehearsals.  We know that some of you don’t like to go out at night, and we know that others like to come to both the dress rehearsal and the concert, because both are very different experiences. Please note that the entrance donation will increase to R30 from August 1. We ask you to please be seated by 9:45 and if you need to leave the hall please do as quietly as possible to ensure the musicians are not disturbed. Late comers should please enter through the back door. Then, there’s the quiz on August 5th at 17h30 for 18h00 at the Glen Country Club and as usual David Buda will be the witty and clever Quiz Master. There are still a few more tickets so contact Derek Auret at 0217944148 0824502016 derek@auret.co.za to save your place. It’s R100 a head and includes soup! The next FOM fundraiser is on Sunday, September 29. Diarize this date now the Old Mutual House soirees are always something special., Tickets will be R300 for paid up members and R350 for non-members and FOH will start selling in August, when the musicians will be announced.

 

News from CPO!

Back to business! With the recent break almost a dream, our musicians are getting back into stride. Sunday saw two fantastic Family Symphonic Fun concerts with Aviva Pelham, and today the CPO begins rehearsing. The season opens with a thwack, according to Rodney Trudgeon, whose entertaining programme notes accompany each concert.  He is alluding to the timpani thwack in the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony, the main work on the season opener’s programme.  Brandon Phillips will conduct this concert on August 1, which will feature the amazing Leslie Howard in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no 2. The first piece is the Barber Adagio for Strings.  This concert is generously sponsored by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation.  Leslie Howard’s recital last Saturday for the Cape Town Concert Series is being followed by Beethoven, Liszt and Tchaikovsky trios with Suzanne and Peter Martens (violin and cello) at the Endler Hall on Saturday. Our second concert, on August 8, sees the return of popular conductor Arjan Tien for three concerts. His first will feature Petronel Malan in Mozart’s Piano Concerto no 20 in D minor, K466. Other works are The Wood Dove by Dvořák, and the Symphony no 3 in F by Brahms.  This concert is generously supported by Naspers. Petronel Malan can also be heard in recital at the Hugo Concert Series in Parow on August 4 at 15.30. She’ll play works by Haydn, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Liszt. Don’t forget the Cirque de la Symphonie – there are four performances on August 23, 24 and 25 at times to suit you and the family! Buy Tickets

Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo

Congratulations to Maria and Arjan Our principal clarinet, Maria du Toit, and guest conductor Arjan Tien, have just announced their engagement! We wish them all the best for their future together.

Streamlined booking procedures for subscribers We have streamlined our booking procedures for subscribers for symphony concerts, beginning with the Summer Season, for which bookings open on August 1. The concerts take place in October and November and include the CPO/Wagner/Verdi celebration with Michelle Breedt and Fikile Mvinjelwa. First of all, subscriptions that are being renewed can only be done at Artscape Dial-a-Seat on tel 021 421 7695 and for two weeks only – from August 1 to August 14. After that, the seats will go back into the system for the general public to purchase. While seats can be booked online at www.computicket.co.za,  it is simpler to visit an outlet yourself. Please take advantage of this early renewal, because we would hate you to lose your seats. WHY YOU SHOULD SUBSCRIBE OR RESUBSCRIBE Renew now for the October-November  season or buy a subscription and have a chance to win bed and breakfast at the stunning Coopmanhuijs Hotel and Spa in Stellenbosch in the quiet season.  There’s one night for each category!

Happy birthday to the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s Chairman The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, its board, management and musicians, would like to congratulate Ben Rabinowitz, its committed and generous chairman on achieving a great milestone – his 80th birthday. Ben is known as a great philanthropist and benefactor of the arts and we wish him a long and healthy life.  Thank you, Ben, for your dedication to the CPO. Friends of Ben’s, Jonathon and Marion Bloch, used the occasion to send a donation to the Cape Philharmonic to mark the birthday, and we thank them for this. We, of course, agree that this is a great way to mark a birthday and support the city’s only professional orchestra, especially since 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the first symphony orchestra in the country, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra. Ben Rabinowitz turned 80 and the CPO marked it with a gift of specially labelled wine. Strategic marketing consultant Shirley de Kock Gueller gave him a sample at his celebratory luncheon in Noordhoek.

BAHI concert with CPYO on August 4 At the kick-off of Humanity Week, NueLight Productions in association with the CPYO and Borrowed Angels Healing Initiative (BAHI), presents a showcase called Healing Concert. The concert takes place on Sunday, August 4, at Artscape Theatre and features  Nianell, Zanne Stapelberg, Louis Britz, Ivan Siegelaar, Rouchelle Liedermann, Elton Jansen and Piper James. The big news is that all will be accompanied by the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. The concept of the concert was initiated by the CPO’s outreach manager, Laurika Steenkamp, herself the mother of stillborn twin girls, as a support group for women who lost their babies due to miscarriage, stillbirth or death in infancy. This year she has teamed up with well-known SA writer and performance poet Malika Ndlovu, also a bereaved mother, whose poetic memoir Invisible Earthquake: A Woman’s Journey Through Stillbirth, is increasingly being used as an advocacy tool and grief support resource for mothers and in the local maternal health sector. The theme for the 7th Artscape Women / Humanity Arts Festival is Against all Odds and focuses on women, societal challenges and disability. Says  Marlene le Roux, Artscape’s Director of Audience Development and Education, “The objective of this annual festival is to create a sustainable artistic response which addresses the on-going challenges, violence and human rights violations against women and how they and people  faced with disability celebrate their lives.”

The Zip Zap and the Cirque It’s not often that we can form collaborations with a circus, and we are delighted to say that Zip Zap and CPO have joined forces in presenting Cirque de la Symphonie to Cape Town.  Zip Zap is telling its supporters about us, and we are telling our supporters about it. We plan also to feature Zip Zap in a CPYO gala concert next year, but more about that later. Zip Zap was founded in 1992 by Brent van Rensburg and his French wife Laurence Estève to inspire young people and help build a new culture of peaceful coexistence in South Africa. Working with a diverse community of children from all backgrounds, they wanted Zip Zap to help kids to ‘dare to dream’ and make those dreams a reality. Brent has a background in circus and Laurence in education, and it all started when Brent placed a trapeze bar in a tree at a local school in Langa. Since then, it has grown into the school it is today; a school – free to all participants – with 21 years of experience in bridging the gaps between children from different backgrounds and cultures through circus education. Thousands of children have been through the circus, and every Saturday morning about 70 beginners learn the fine art of acrobatics at the big tent at Artscape.  Upcoming Zip Zap Circus shows include one for Constantia Waldorf on August 24 at noon and the same day for the Deutsche Kindergarten Bellville at 3pm, both at the Zip Zap dome. Support Zip Zap who does shows as benefits for other organizations, and come to the Cirque de la Symphonie as well. Gregör Rohrig

Mario, vale amico Mario Filippi, who died earlier this month, was concertmaster of the CAPAB Orchestra and a first violinist of the merged CAPAB Orchestra (the first CPO) and the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra in 1997. The CPO board, management and staff extend their deeply felt condolences to the family of the man who made a mark on so many lives. This tribute comes from Daniel Neal, principal cellist in the CAPAB Orchestra and librarian at the CPO. “Mario was one of South Africa’s great concertmasters and perhaps one of the last of his generation of leading musicians who decided to dedicate their lives to music making here.  I had the privilege of working with him at the helm of CAPAB Orchestra from 1983, and beyond the joys of playing great works together I learned a great deal about interpretation, string playing styles, and about being a gentleman.  I also enjoyed his company greatly and while I was glad he was enjoying has well-earned retirement, I have missed his presence in these years hence.  My heart goes out to Marietjie and the family at this time, and I ask all our older friends and colleagues to join me in saying farewell to this wonderful man.”

 

Cape Philharmonic Orchestra concerts

Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra & Cape Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble:
The CPYO and CPYWE have performed at many events this past term. Playing music at many events will improve the skills of the musicians and it’s a nice experience to become a professional musician in the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

One of the highlights for the Wind Ensemble was performing at the MTN Greyton Classics for “All Festival”. This festival takes place every year and sets a platform for musicians. Another highlight for the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra was playing for Stefanie Morland fashion show at the Mercedes Benz SA Fashion Week held at the CTICC. It was the first time in Cape Town, the Youth Orchestra was playing and topmodels walking on the music. Other great performances were at the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival and the Curtain Raiser in City Hall. The CPWO received standing ovations for the various performances.

Cape Philharmonic Orchestra School Concerts
The CPO performed a special classical program at 42 schools/communities during the past year. The programme was compiled for the various Grades and give more attention for arts and culture programme in schools. Some of the schools, the CPO visited were “Parow West Primary”, “Jan Kriel School” and “Pinelands Primary School”. In a funny and playful way, the various music instruments will be introduced to the children. Songs, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra played were “Entry of the Gladiators”, “Swan Lake Overture” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. At the end of every school concert, two children were allowed to conduct the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. The children, teachers and family were inspired. The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra showed the people the beautiful classical music of the Western Cape.

 

Cape Philharmonic Orchestra – Marketing intern – Part one

I would like to introduce myself to the classical music lovers of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

Name: Ralf Senden
Age: 25 years
Country: The Netherlands
Education: Commercial Management, Zuyd University, Sittard
Internship: Cape Philharmonic Orchestra – Marketing

Two years ago, I came with the idea to do an internship abroad. The reason was to improve my English and gain work experience in my field of study so as to broaden my horizons while enhancing my career profile. Through XChange South Africa, I came in contact with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. Playing music is not very new for me. Years ago, I played “bugle” for a couple of years in a wind ensemble in Holland.

During the internship, my task was to write a social media plan for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra for the first ten weeks. Last thursday (November 15), I finished the social media plan. Now, my task is to implement the conclusions and recommendations for the various social media platforms of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

Besides working for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, I also plan a lot of activities during the weekends in Cape Town. I already hiked Table Mountain, Lions Head and Devil’s Peak, watched the big five in Kruger National Park and did cage diving with sharks in Gansbaai. I ❤ South Africa

The next blog, I will tell more about my experiences with classical music concerts and the Outreach and Education programme of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

Thank you for reading my first blog.

Ralf

 

News from the CPO

DON’T MISS THE CPO’S NOVEMBER SYMPHONY SEASON 1 NOVEMBER – 22 NOVEMBER 2012 Alexander Gilman, the young Swiss-based violinist whose new CD with the CPO recently won the prestigious Diapason d´Or award, is one of the attractions in the November Symphony Season. Gilman, who will launch his CD with the CPO in November, is the soloist in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 on Thursday 15 November in the City Hall. The South African-born conductor Conrad van Alphen will be on the podium. One of South Africa’s top cellists, Peter Martens, is the soloist in local composer Allan Stephenson’s Cello Concerto on 1 November. Four young South African soloists – Arlene Jaftha (soprano), Elizabeth Frandsen (mezzo), Lukhanyo Moyake (tenor) and Thato Machona (bass) – will perform Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 9 with the orchestra and the New Apostolic Church Choir on 8 November. The international Russian conductor Konstantin Scherbakov will be on the podium. The award-winning pianist Inon Barnatan makes his debut with the CPO as a soloist in Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto no.2, op 22, in G minor on 22 November. Conrad van Alphen will once again conduct the orchestra. For more CPO performances visit: www.cpo.org.za
COMMUNITY CONCERTS Apart from the regular symphony concerts, the CPO is committed to taking classical music to previously disadvantaged communities. This venture has been made possible by the generous support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. In September the CPO performed at Isiphiwo Primary (Khayelitsha), Capricorn Primary (Vrygrond), Astra School (Montana), Valhalla Secondary (Elsies Rivier) and Alexander Sinton High (Athlone), and Manenberg. The CPO also performed at the historic Moravian Church in Mamre as part of the annual Mamre Wild Flower Show.
YOUTH ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES HERITAGE DAY The Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will perform at the Sundowner Concert in the Amphitheatre, Iziko Museum, on 24 September at 4:30pm. This concert is part of the Heritage celebration, which has been made possible by Creative Cape Town and offers families and friends the opportunity to picnic on the lawns in a relaxed atmosphere. Other entertainment will be provided by the poet Toni Stuart and the Cape Town jazz band Hasain Adas, among others.
FUNDING FOR THE ORCHESTRA The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund awards R7,2 m to the CPO   Read more   Mellon Foundation Funds Orchestra It is with great pleasure to announce that the Mellon Foundation in New York has approved CPO’s application for funding. The generous sponsorship of $440 000 (about R3,6 mil) will help the orchestra to take orchestral music to all communities in the Western Cape.
SOCIAL EVENING WITH THE CAPE PHILHARMONIC’S BRASS AND PERCUSSION SECTIONS The Cape Philharmonic presented its second inter-active concert. All you wanted to know about the orchestra but were too afraid to ask This exciting concert is a second one of its kind and was held at the Fugard Theatre on Wednesday 19th September at 19:00. Fine Music Radio presenter Rodney Trudgeon hosted the evening, which was constructed around audience questions about the orchestra with a particular focus on the brass and percussion sections of the orchestra. Some members of the Cape Philharmonic demonstrated how the brass and percussion sections enhance the unique sound of symphonic music. This initiative by the Cape Philharmonic in collaboration with the Fugard Theatre supported by the Fine Music Radio was made possible by the L&S Chiappini Trust.
CPO LIBRARY GETS NEW HOME The CPO Library, long housed on the ground floor at Artscape, is getting a new home. As further renovations of the Artscape building proceed, the library is being relocated to a new, modernised and efficient room. But in the interim period, the main bulk of the collection will have to be moved to the Artscape Epping facility, probably for two years. The Epping facility is being converted into long-term storage and archives, and the end of the exercise will be a comprehensive catalogue of all the materials of the CTSO and CAPAB.
THE CAPE PHILHARMONIC IS ALIVE IN CAPE TOWN BE PART OF THE ACTION!   Click here to visit our site and make a donation Invest in Future Musicians by supporting the Masidlale Music Project
OUR CD RELEASES AND DOWNLOADS
The CPO has also released a double CD of short orchestral masterpieces on the DUX label. The conductor on this CD is Owain Arwel Hughes. The Allan Stephenson CD with the Cape Philharmonic conducted by him consists of his compositions, Burlesque for Double Bass and Small Orchestra (1974), Concerto for Double Bass and Small Orchestra (2005) and Concerto for Cello and Full Orchestra (2004). The soloists are Leon Bosch (Double Bass) and Peter Martens (Cello). www.cpo.org.za On this new CD with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Perry So, Alexander recorded the concertos of S. Barber and E. W. Korngold, the Carmen Fantasie by F. Waxman and the Theme from Steven Spielberg´s Movie “Schindlers List” by J. Williams.This CD was released on OEHMS Classics label and was recently nominated as the Classical CD of the week in the Financial Times Germany. To order any of our CD’s, please call +27 21 410 9809 The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s Schnittke recordings on the BIS label can now be purchase by visiting eclassical website. You can click on the link and find the CPO’s music by clicking on orchestras. www.eclassical.com
CONTACT US
Tel: (021) 410 9809 Fax: (021) 425 1009 www.cpo.org.za Street Address Artscape DF Malan Street Foreshore Cape Town Postal Address P O Box 4040 Cape Town 8000

 

Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s CD Releases and DOWNLOADS

The CPO has also released a double CD of short orchestral masterpieces on the DUX label. The conductor on this CD is Owain Arwel Hughes. The Allan Stephenson CD with the Cape Philharmonic conducted by him consists of his compositions, Burlesque for Double Bass and Small Orchestra (1974), Concerto for Double Bass and Small Orchestra (2005) and Concerto for Cello and Full Orchestra (2004). The soloists are Leon Bosch (Double Bass) and Peter Martens (Cello). www.cpo.org.za On this new CD with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Perry So, Alexander recorded the concertos of S. Barber and E. W. Korngold, the Carmen Fantasie by F. Waxman and the Theme from Steven Spielberg´s Movie “Schindlers List” by J. Williams.This CD was released on OEHMS Classics label and was recently nominated as the Classical CD of the week in the Financial Times Germany. To order any of our CD’s, please call +27 21 410 9809 The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s Schnittke recordings on the BIS label can now be purchase by visiting eclassical website. You can click on the link and find the CPO’s music by clicking on orchestras. www.eclassical.com

 

CPO alive and well in Cape Town – But for how long?

 

Does an exclusive audience justify the expense of an orchestra in Cape Town?

Is it just a Eurocentric remnant of times gone by – ready to be archived on the dusty shelves of an illustrious past? The real question: does the future generation need an orchestra? The youth frequent pubs and clubs with house music, rap, hip-hop, pop, rock, blues, jazz, R&B, Country & Western – yes, even “boere-musiek” – all of these mere mutations of the classical format. Will they ever return to the symphony concert, or does an orchestra have to conform and change like an amoeba, adapting to these genres in order to please the crowds and attract new audiences? Does it still have a rightful place in modern society?
Is it time to vote and let the people decide?

If the necessary and constant funding to maintain the orchestra is not obtained, it is time to let the audience speak or forever hold their breath. If the city hall is half empty during seasonal concerts, does this portray the sentiments of the public? Do we close down and become a silent remnant of the past?

Why save the orchestra?

Music is the only language understood by all. It is there for everybody. Classical music is the only genre that has withstood the test of time for centuries – it is timeless. Let us not deprive talented children of a bright future. Speak up and let them play!

Give us your mandate to continue a proud international tradition which speaks a language of the heart. Music builds understanding and forgiveness, bonds diverse cultures and peoples, creates jobs, but mostly deserves to be spoken by thousands of talented young beings for years to come! Imagine a world without the sound of pure, unobliterated harmony? Movies without sound tracks, radio stations without music, bands gone silent, advertisements without tunes, raising a child without singing, no national anthem, no humming along, no recordings of timeless music to listen to, and so forth. The sounds of silence, emotionless plain speech, deprived of joy and passion. Can we afford to let the music in its purest form go?

The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra is dedicated to performance excellence – serving the connoisseur – but most of all we serve as generator and promoter of new talent. The CPO Academy, Youth Orchestras and the Masidlale Music Projects in marginalised communities provide access to professional skills training. Our professional musicians are creating the future orchestra and future audience. Please grant them a career and let them play.
The answer!

The voices and instruments of young South Africans are ringing out all over the world. One such a fine ambassador for classical music is soprano Pretty Yende, a product of the SACM, who is on contract at La Scala Opera House in Milan. In an interview last year, when asked about a new wave of black interest and success in classical music, albeit symphonic or operatic, she said in no uncertain terms: Music is there for all people. And we say: Bravo! Let them play!
WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT MUSIC! IT IS TIME TO SAVE THE REAL MUSIC FOR CAPE TOWN!

 WHAT TO DO?
Please support your orchestra by contributing to a secure future.

You can assist by:

1.    Setting up a monthly debit order to the CPO
2.    Making an annual donation to the CPO Outreach & Education, which is tax-deductible
3.    Sponsoring a concert to the amount of R150,000, which will secure naming rights to the concert
4.    Becoming an orchestra angel by donating R50,000 for 5 years to the Endowment Trust
5.    Sponsoring a musician to the amount of R100,000 per annum

For more information and the benefits attached to a sponsorship, call Karin Blumer at 021-410 9826 or e-mailkarin@cpo.org.za
Save the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra!

 

Cape philharmonic youth orchestra at Fashion Week

In a twist of drama and flair, Stefania Morland’s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection at the inaugural Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Cape Town will be unveiled to the explosive sounds of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO). Combining beautiful fashion with beautiful sounds, the show vows to be a theatrical affair set to rouse the senses.

Stefania Morland

Stefania Morland is dedicated to personal service and attention to detail. Her intimate high-end fashion store and studio, which opened its doors five years ago, has grown and evolved while staying true to the original design ethos: unique, playful pieces that remain classic and timeless.

“Layering pieces and expertly constructed garments that can be worn in more than one way create a more complex look and allow our customers freedom and creativity of expression with our clothes.”

Stefania uses only the finest hand-selected natural fibres sourced from around the world to produce the best possible end result. Each garment is skillfully crafted with specific attention to construction techniques and accentuated detail, creating truly distinctive clothing for people who respect and celebrate life.

Stefania Morland’s design studio and retail store front is located at 15 on Orange – a 5 star hotel on the corner of Orange Street and Gray’s Pass in Cape Town.

The CPYO

Incepted in 2004 and headed by conductor Brandon Phillips, the CPYO is composed of 60 predominantly previously-disadvantaged youths. Forming part of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra’s (CPO) Outreach and Education programme, the members of the CPYO are mentored through regular workshops and one-on-one tuition by members of the main orchestra. The Youth Orchestra also regularly performs the curtain raiser at CPO Symphony Concerts.

Brandon Phillips who is CPO’s Principal bassoonist, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Youth Orchestra will be on the podium.
http://stefaniamorland.com/

The CPYO will also perform at the Concert to Heal on 5 August in the Artscape Opera House at 5pm. They will share the stage with Heavenly Quartez, Sibongile Mngoma, Ivan Siegelaar, poet Malika Ndlovu and other singing stars. Tickets are available at Computicket.

http://online.computicket.com/web/event/bahi_healing_concert/566159218/

 

Masidlale Music Project expands to Atlantis

Masidlale Music Project, a CPO’s outreach and education programme will be launched in Atlantis next month. Founded in 2009, the Masidlale project provides violin training to children using the Suzuki method. Over 100 township children from three schools in Nyanga, Gugulethu and Langa benefit from the project.

The teachers at the three Masidlale satellites consist of Noluvuyo Nteta, Siyathemba Nteta and Tembisa Ntshongontshi who are also members of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Shaheema Lakay is currently receiving training in Suzuki teaching and will be employed to teach at the Atlantis satellite. The Manager of the project is Maria Botha.

As it takes 15 years to reach professional status, it became clear that music training had to be implemented at grassroots level to reach optimum results.

 

Meet the CPYO’s Conductor

The Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (CPYO)

The Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra was launched in 2004 as part of the CPO’s development and transformation plan. Most of the members of the CPYO come from previously disadvantaged communities.  The Orchestra now has 58 members that rehearse every Saturday in Cape Town. The members of the professional orchestra are committed to a programme of teaching and training the young musicians through regular workshops, orchestra rehearsals and one-on-one tuition.

The CPYO regularly performs a curtain raiser at CPO Symphony Concerts and at least once a year performs side-by-side with the professional orchestra.  They also form part of the CPO’s International Music Festival.

http://youtu.be/0HUlxYgvBJc

Brandon Phillips is currently the artistic director and conductor of the Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and also principal bassoonist of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra.

Phillips started his music career at the New Apostolic Church, where he studied various instruments and also conducted ensembles and choirs. He has performed as soloist with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra,  the UCT Symphony Orchestra and the UCT String Ensemble. He won first prize in the Sirocco Wind Quintet Huguenot Music Competition (2003) and the woodwind category in the ATKV competition (2008). He has participated in master classes with international renowned bassoonist, David Siedel (principal soloist of the Radio Vienna Orchestra), Licolion Washington (Memphis lecturer and chamber music specialist), Daniel Matzikawa (principal of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra ) and Christopher Milard (Northwestern university lecturer and principal of the National Arts Centre Symphony, Chicago).

Brandon Philips won first Len van Zyl Conductors’ Competition in 2009, which granted him an internship with the famous Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and master classes with Prof. Victor Yampolski at the Northwestern University. On his return he also received master classes from the renowned Dutch conductor Arjan Tien.
Phillips has conducted the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, the Free State Symphony Orchestra, the Black Tie Ensemble and the Unisa Symphony Orchestra. Among others he conducted the CPO at the Youth Music Festival in 2011, which is one of the most important concerts for talented young South African soloists. He recently conducted the CPYO at the Cape Town Fashion Week during Stafania Morland’s.

In 2010 he started an intense conducting studio under the Cape Philharmonic outreach programme,  which currently has 14 conducting students.  He also acted as woodwind coach for the Sasol National Youth Orchestra and assisted in conducting the Miagi Youth Orchestra, and the Stellenbosch chamber symphony orchestra.

In 2012 he received an award from the Minister of Arts and Culture Ivan Meyer for “Outstanding Achievements by the Youth”.

Contact details:

Brandon Phillips

Artistic Director and Conductor

Cape Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Tel 0720257703

Fax +27 21 425 1009

Phlbra003@hotmail.com

P O Box 4040, Cape Town 800

Impressive performance CAPE TIMES

http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/impressive-performance-1.1296704#.T-1r0hdo3FE

May 15 2012 at 09:49am

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Brandon Phillips makes his debut as a conductor at the City Hall.

SYMPHONY CONCERT, May 10, City Hall. CPO conducted by Brandon Phillips, soloists Spencer Myer, Alexander Ramm; Brahms: Tragic Overture, Op 81; Mozart: Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor, K466; Elgar: Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op 20; Cello Concerto in E minor, Op 85. DEON IRISH reviews.

THERE were few vacant seats for the first concert of the autumn season, with four pre-eminent works on the programme, two exciting young soloists in attendance and a local conductor making his concert debut.

Brandon Phillips has achieved an enviable local reputation as a fine bassoonist and he has also been seen in action with the youth orchestra, playing occasional curtain raisers at symphony concerts.

But this was the first time he was given an entire programme to himself – and quite a programme at that.

None of these works would be a ready choice for a young and inexperienced conductor, which makes Phillips’s overall excellent account of them the more commendable. We now have an additional locally based conductor and we must pay him the compliment of no longer treating him as an apprentice.

Which means, of course, that he takes responsibility for his results. And, despite the overall success of his always elegant contribution to the evening, there were aspects that fell short of excellence.

The opening Brahms overture suffered from some indifferent balances, with the too prominent and therefore somewhat detached wind and brass players detracting from the necessary sense of solid cohesion, particularly in the opening section.

The other purely orchestral item was Elgar’s deceptively slight suite for strings, a work that showpieces the strings to great advantage. It requires subtlety of execution and carefully nuanced tempo choices to really bloom. Phillips’s reading was generally sound with fine ensemble, but it lacked the relaxed assuredness, even indulgence, which informs much of the writing, particularly the slow movement.

I was much impressed with his accompanimental skills in both concertos.

He maintained taut ensemble with both soloists, save for some lapses in the closing section of the slow movement, and orchestral levels were always sympathetic to the soloist.

Interpretive issues in accompaniment are a different matter, however, since the overall approach nowadays is generally dictated by the soloist.

Mozart’s D minor concerto is one of the composer’s finest works and one of the few concertos that remained in the repertoire throughout the 19th century. Most commentators ascribe this to its overtly dramatic flavour: written in 1785, it certainly presages the Don Giovanni writing of two years later.

But for all its drama, it remains Rococo in conception and mannered in style, even if novel in construction.

Although Myer delivered the taxing solo writing – full of anxious chromaticism, striding arpeggios and busy passage work – with note-accurate aplomb, one missed the underlying nervous energy which lies at the core of both outer movements.

The first became too outraged to be nervous; and the tempo of the last (the arpeggiatic opening of the principal theme becoming virtually a spread chord) tended to the hysterical.

Myers delivered a well-communicated central movement, but in its outer sections, Phillips was guilty of occasionally pushing the tempo and so losing something of the sense of quietude.

The high point of the evening was kept for last.

Elgar’s concerto is one of the great works written for the cello, although widespread international recognition has been acquired only in the past three decades. That might partially be because of its perceived “Englishness”, perhaps best described as a degree of emotional diffidence.

But there is a difference between emotion and passion; and the best English music – and certainly that of Elgar – has never lacked passion. So it was that this young Russian virtuoso delivered the solo line with a convincing musical insight and a smouldering passion that set alight the solo line.

Ramm plays with enormous musical authority. Unlike many young instrumentalists, he is not intimidated by the reflective or the elegiac; nor is he nervous about the length of pauses, or the creation of inter-phrase silence. His is a phenomenal technique and he demonstrated it to full effect in this captivating performance.

Phillips provided a remarkably flexible accompaniment, managing the frequently fragmented writing with a neat precision.

The performance garnered a well-deserved standing ovation from a delighted audience.