Special orchestra to perform magical mix of old and new
This year, the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) presents a magical mix of new and old, guaranteed to excite and captivate beyond expectation. To celebrate the 20th rendition of the SICMF, a special alumni orchestra has been constituted to perform a once-off pre-SICMF concert on Thursday, 3 July.
The SICMF Alumni Symphony Orchestra comprises past participants from its inception to the present. The programme will include Mahler’s gargantuan fifth symphony, a new work by Matthijs van Dijk, and Gershwin’s Concerto in F. The SICMF Alumni Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the young up-and-coming internationally lauded South African conductor, Jacobus de Jager.
The SICMF faculty concerts will kick off on Friday, 4 July, with reimagined Baroque – Max Richter’s ingenious reworking of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons featuring as soloist, the incomparable magician of the violin, Daniel Rowland. This evening, which will set the scene for the rest of this year’s SICMF, will end with a smorgasbord of fashion, artistry, and festival sparkle choreographed to the music of Ravel’s Bolero.
Two fashion designers and a troupe of dancers have been invited to complement the opening night’s music. Not only will the designers and dancers be enhancing Daniel Rowland’s electrifying performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons recomposed by Max Richter, but Ravel’s Bolero will see all the international festival artists introduced one by one in garments designed by ERRE Fashion for the ladies, whilst the men’s outfits will be adorned by ERRE’s fabric cutoffs designed by Roman Handt to give their ordinary concert attire a whole new look. And who better to lead the world-class instrumentalists than the dancers from Figure of 8 Dance Theatre.
For those whose tastes remain firmly rooted in the classics, Beethoven, Strauss, Shostakovich, Brahms, and Saint-Saëns remain on the menu.
The featured composer this year is the internationally acclaimed Boston-based jazz pianist, Kevin Harris whose specially commissioned work will receive its world premiere on Tuesday 8 July. “Light and Resonance: A Contemporary Symphonic Reflection Through the Courageous Lens of Steve Biko” is based on the written black consciousness works of anti-Apartheid activist Steven Biko. With this innovative composition, Harris endeavours to bring into view how Biko’s actions and words, when held up to present-day society as a mirror, can provide a source of reflection on progress achieved or lack thereof.
Whilst the SICMF faculty perform masterpieces every evening for the duration of the festival, they are hard at work from the early hours of each morning, rehearsing, coaching, giving public master classes and engaging with the 300+ student participants, many of whom also feature alongside their mentors in the larger works presented at the evening faculty concerts. Additional student concerts can be attended every day at 13:00 and 17:00.
Much loved regular festival artists include amongst others Nicholas Dautricourt, Andrej Baranov, Suzanne Martens and Farida Bacharova (violin), Xandi van Dijk (viola), Maja Bogdanovic and David Cohen (cello), Ekaterina Kornishina (flute), Dwight Parry (oboe), YaoGuang Zhai (clarinet), Marco Silva (trumpet), Jauvon Gilliam (percussion) and Emanuil Ivanov (piano).
New artists include José Garcia (French horn), one of the most respected artists of his generation; Zoran Markovic, double bassist extraordinaire; Bram van Sambeek, the Paganini of the bassoon and Anna Serova, a violist, who has an international reputation as a charismatic soloist and much sought-after chamber musician.
Another 20th anniversary project is the commissioning of a special artwork by renowned South African pointillist, Gavin Rain. The three-dimensional artwork will reveal a portrait of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the beloved late patron of the SICMF. Gavin Rain, an artist from Cape Town, has held exhibitions in the Mother City, Johannesburg, Venice, Chicago and others. The work, a permanent installation, will be assembled outside the Konservatorium building at the base of the staircase leading to the Behrens Foyer throughout the SICMF. Patrons, participants and the general public will be able to see Desmond Tutu’s likeness taking shape over this period.
The SICMF will conclude with four orchestral concerts, three of which will take place in the Endler Hall and a community concert which will take place in the Kayamandi High School Hall. The Festival Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the lively Dutch maestro, Antony Hermus, will present works by Brahms – the iconic first symphony – Nino Rota and Ravel with Bram van Sambeek and Emanuil Ivanov as soloists. The Festival Concert Orchestra will be conducted by the grammy award winner, Michael Repper (last year’s FSO conductor) in works by Bizet, Beethoven and Saint-Saëns with Maja Bogdanović as soloist.
- The evening concerts take place from 4 to 12 July at 20:00, with the grand finale taking place at 16:30 on Sunday 13 July, all in the Endler hall.