Aspiring musos to play in Corobrik Orchestra concert
"This annual event offers aspirant musicians the unique experience to simply jump in the deep end and play in an orchestra." - conductor, Richard Cock
ONE of Durban’s prime cultural attractions, the annual Corobrik Orchestra concert (hosted by the British Cultural and Heritage Association) will be held at in the Nkulisa Conference Centre in the grounds of Penzance Primary School, 61 Penzance Road in Glenwood on Sunday, 9 August.
The British Cultural and Heritage Association (BCHA) has lined up an enticing programme of musical items to be performed by a massed ad hoc orchestra under the baton of maestro, Richard Cock. The annual event includes the participation of the Steel Drum Band and its affiliate group of marimba players.
Participants and audience members will be pleased to hear that the venue chosen for the Corobrik Orchestra 2015 is a more central locale than in recent years. The event will kick off 2.30pm, following a massed orchestra rehearsal between 11am and 2pm. As a curtain-raiser to the main concert, the marimba players will perform between 2.30pm and 2.50pm, followed by a 20-minute performance by the Steel Drum Foundation from 3pm, which will include the traditional song, Masithi Amen.
The main concert runs from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, opening with the South African National Anthem. Items to be heard on the generously packed line-up of concert evergreens include the theme from Star Wars by John Williams; Richard Rodgers’s musical standard; Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific; Glow Idyll by Paul Lincke; King Cotton by Suza; Brahms’s Hungarian Rhapsody No 5; and the much-loved Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, Junior.
This will be followed by performances of popular items such as Bare Necessities, Shosholoza, You’ll Never Walk Alone, a Sinatra medley titled Salute to Ole Blue Eyes and the show-stopping Can-Can from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.
Participants must be able to read and play music. They are required to pay an entry fee of R60 and to register to play either as individuals of as part of a group. Each musician will be issued with a complimentary ticket for a family member or friend to attend the event. Participants are encouraged to be as conversant as possible with the prescribed music so that the concert will be a fulfilling experience, thus achieving a successful team effort.
To register to play in the Corobrik Orchestra 2015, call 031 202 6174 or e-mail bcha1820@global.co.za. Secure parking is available. Seating is unreserved and tickets at R50 will be sold at the door.
