Making music together
In keeping with its transference of skills initiative, Summer Season visiting conductors and soloists conducted master-classes for up-and-coming stars, enabling them to learn from some of the world’s best.
AN exhibition of 30 black and white prints highlighting the extensive community, education and outreach of the busy KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, are on display at the Durban Art Gallery until Saturday, 30 April.
“So often one associates the orchestra with performing sublime concerts in our magnificent Durban City Hall during our Symphony Seasons, not realising that although the Symphony Seasons are our flagship programme, they represent a fraction of the overall activities of the orchestra. The majority of the orchestra’s time is spent presenting performances, workshops, master-classes and mentoring programmes which take place in community venues, school halls, rehearsal rooms, old age homes and informal spaces across the length and breadth of the KZN province,” said Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the KZN Philharmonic, Bongani Tembe.
Working closely with the Durban Art Gallery, an exhibition has been created to give gallery-visitors special insight into some of these activities. The Print Room in the gallery has been transformed into a mock orchestra rehearsal room, with 30 carefully chosen black and white prints displayed on music stands. The photos have all been taken over roughly a two-month period during December last year and February this year, by photographers Val Adamson, Gcina Ndwalane and Rogan Ward to create a storyboard which begins to capture some of the special moments, connections and nuances of these community engagement programmes. The exhibition is curated by Illa Thompson, designed by Peter Court with Val Adamson as a photographic consultant.
Dedicated to promoting orchestral music in South Africa, the KZN Philharmonic has an active relationship working with choirs and supporting new music initiatives. Recently, the orchestra performed for three separate world-premieres of bold new works. The orchestra also performs in old age homes, prisons and various institutions as part of its Symphony of Hope campaign to stage free concerts to the city’s marginalised. Every year the orchestra performs to schools throughout the province – playing in the cities, suburbs, rural communities and townships, touching the lives of more than 30 000 pupils in a specially-devised music introduction programme.
In keeping with its transference of skills initiative, Summer Season visiting conductors and soloists conducted master-classes for up-and-coming stars, enabling them to learn from some of the world’s best. There was a morning conducting a master-class during which four conductors with backgrounds in the choral music tradition had the opportunity to conduct the KZN Philharmonic under the watchful eye of internationally acclaimed conductor, Wolfram Christ.
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra is nearing the end of its six-week Summer Symphony Season performing an extraordinary programme of beautiful orchestral music showcasing some of the finest musical talents from South Africa and the world.
The exhibition is particularly useful for school groups. An option could be for schools to visit the exhibition on a Thursday morning and then attend the morning tea and symphony final rehearsal at 10am in the City Hall or Playhouse. Pupils tickets are R10. For more information about the KZPO, visit kznphil.org.za, or contact 031 369 9438 or e-mail bookings@kznphil.org.za.
Making Music Together can be seen at the Durban Art Gallery (DAG) until the end of April. DAG is open seven days a week from 8.30am to 4pm, and from 11am to 4pm on Sundays. Entry is free and all are welcome. For more info, contact the Gallery on 031 311 2264 / 9 or e-mail Jabu.Mngwengwe@durban.gov.za. DAG is on the second floor of the magnificent Durban City Hall building; enter opposite the Playhouse in the heart of the city of Durban.
