Author: stelsinkins

KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra to delight classical music fans

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

THE KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing a number of concerts at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

At 6 pm on July 4, the orchestra will present a Symphony Concert, conducted by Bernhard Gueller and featuring soloist, Joanna Franklin (violin), in the Guy Butler Theatre at Monument.

The programme includes: Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Preludio e Umsindo; Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35; and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8, in G major, Op. 88. Tickets range from R70 to R100.

At 2 pm and 7.30 pm on July 5, in the Guy Butler Theatre, the orchestra will present The (He)art of the Matter.
The concert will be conducted by Richard Cock and features soloists, Magdalene Minnaar (soprano), Timothy Moloi (tenor) and Nicholas Nicolaidis (tenor). The programme includes a tribute to Frank Sinatra, Gershwin’s S’Wonderful, S’Marvellous, A Whole New World, Unforgettable, What A Wonderful World and The Lady is a Tramp.

Tickets are R70 (R65 concessions). A percentage of proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Theatre Benevolent Fund, a charity which provides care and comfort to performers who find themselves incapacitated and destitute through illness.

Cock will also conduct the orchestra in a Gala Concert in the Guy Butler Theatre at 3 pm on July 5.
The soloists are Musa Ngungwana (baritone), this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Sorin Osorean (horn), Boris Kerimov (cello) and Magdalene de Vries (marimba). The programme will include Peter Klatzow’s I am an African and Tiniyane — a story for orchestra. Tickets are R70 to R100.

At 5 pm on July 5 the orchestra will be performing Heroes and Villains, a children’s concert, in the Monument Fountain Foyer. This interactive educational concert will feature popular music and famous themes from TV and the silver screen, including Pirates of the Caribbean, James Bond, Star Wars and Superman. Admission is free.

Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic — Frankel, Violeta Osorhean (violin), David Snaith (viola), Kerimov, Annelize de Villiers (clarinet) and percussionists, Stephane Pechoux, Jorge Renes Lopez, Joshua Kim and Thando Nkangana — will give a concert celebrating the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The programme will include Ravel’s String Quartet in F major, Steve Reich’s Drumming (1st movement), and David Bruce’s Clarinet Quintet Gumboots.

The recital will take place in the Rhodes Chapel at 7 pm on July 5 and 3 pm on July 7. Tickets are R70 (R65 concessions).

Bookings are open and can be made via the website:http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za. Ticketing call centre: 0860 002 004

Pick up a Festival programme and booking kit from selected Standard Bank and Exclusive Books. The full programme is online at http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za

The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra is performing several concerts at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra is performing several concerts at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

British band Livingstone is touring South Africa in August

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

British rock band, Livingston, will be coming to South Africa in August.

Their tour will kick off at Oppikoppi The Fantastic Mr Vos Vos before show dates in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Eastern Cape and Durban. The band will also spend time on a farm in Newcastle to write and record their next album.

Having formed in the multi-cultural hub of London, Livingston is made up of singer Beukes Willemse and a guitarist/keyboardist Chris van Niekerk, from South Africa, guitarist/percussionist Jakob Nebel, from Germany, and bassist Phil Magee, from the UK.

Finding their feet with 2008’s debut Sign Language and 2012’s Fire To Fire (Universal Music Germany), the band achieved numerous successes including Top 20 in the German sales charts and Number 1 on the Amazon & iTunes Rock Charts. Their single Broken made it into the Top 20 and their second single Go was the official song for German national broadcaster ZDF during the winter Olympics of 2010.

The band also collaborated with Hugh Masekela and Till Brunner for a song for the Football World Cup in South Africa (2010); and were featured in the international blockbuster movie Chalet Girl featuring Bill Nighy, Felicity Jones, Brooke Shields and Ed Westwick.

Retreating to a hunter’s cabin in the woods, an unorthodox location for a band who had previously recorded at the hallowed grounds of Abbey Road and Sonic Ranch with producers such as David Botrill (Muse, Tool, Placebo), the band wrote, produced, recorded and mixed Animal entirely on their own. The result? Their purest work to-date. Livingston released Animal in the UK, Benelux and GSA in Autumn 2014, and followed the release with a successful tour.

Vocalist Beukes Willemse says that the band is looking forward to their time in South Africa: “We are absolutely ecstatic to be touring SA. It has been a dream for so long that it seems quite unreal that it is actually happening. Cant wait!”

  • Watch the Livingston EPK here and get ready for a BIG sound South Africa!: https://youtu.be/TaiA_QgKp9c
  • Listen to the single Chemicals off the album at https://soundcloud.com/livingstonmusic/livingston-chemicals-radio-edit

Social Media inks:

http://facebook.com/livingstonmusic
http://youtube.com/livingstonlondon
https://twitter.com/livingstonmusic
http://livingstonmusic.co.uk

Video Links (ANIMAL singles):

“Chemicals” https://youtu.be/CXhDsz46_NI
“Human” https://youtu.be/ZOu5zJ4idsA
“The Hunter” https://youtu.be/99N4MX12gg8
“Reckless” https://youtu.be/5pBxP_EBlXc

Livingstone are coming to SA in August.

Livingstone are coming to SA in August.

New group exhibition at the BAT Centre in Durban

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

The Menzi Mchunu Gallery at the BAT Centre in Durban’s small craft harbour is hosting the Umhlabelo exhibition from Tuesday, June 30 at 6 pm.

This exhibition comprises the work of five Durban-based visual artists – Major Ndlovu, Andile Maphumulo, Khulekani Mkhize, Nhlakanipho Mkhize and Mthobisi Maphumulo – who are members of the group Amasosha (a Zulu word that means soldiers, people who have patience and courage).

The aim of this group is to shape each other in terms of ideas, share skills in the construction of their work and to make art that can have a dialog with the audience of different cultures.

The title of the exhibition Umhlabelo is a Zulu word with two meanings – it is a Zulu medicine that you drink to fix a broken bone and also can be described as a sacrifice. In South Africa we are in a time where we are fixing the residues of our colonial past and through that process of fixing, there are so many sacrifices and offerings to make.

“The works you will see in this exhibition are a reflection of our communities today and role played by the past to shape our reactions on things and our presentation in our society,” says Fortune Bengu, spokesman for the gallery.

Mthobisi Maphumulo was born in 1988 September 9 at IMfume (southcost). He said: “When I was at school I wanted to study art but I was encouraged to study electrical engineering. I dropped out after two years to pursue my passion for art.”

His work takes a critical look at the social construction of our communities. He is also interested in unpacking inhumane processes involved in the construction and socialisation of human stratification from lower class to the upper class. Through his work, he also revisits the colonial history as a point of reference in order to challenge the residue of the colonial past because he feels it still infringes majorly in our present life.

Umhlabelo runs until July 31. The Menzi Mchunu Gallery is open from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 4 pm. Entrance is free.

A work by Mthobisi Mkhize.

A work by Mthobisi Mkhize.

Mthobisi Maphumulo's ' Voices of my people' .

Mthobisi Maphumulo’s ‘ Voices of my people’ .

This work by Khulekani Mkhize will be on show at the BAT Centre.

This work by Khulekani Mkhize will be on show at the BAT Centre.

Twin Atlantic heading to SA for Oppikoppi and they have a new album out

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

Scottish rock band Twin Atlantic will be performing at Oppikoppi -The Fantastic Mr. VosVos in August.

The band has had a busy year – they have been on an extensive tour of the United Kingdom, performing to full houses and getting rave reviews for their latest album release Great Divide (Red Bull Records). Q magazine said of the album: “Scottish next big things step it up with an arena-rock-sized swagger” and Kerrang! commented: “If their ascent over the past years has shown us anything, they’ll soon be plunging their flag into the summit of British rock.”

Twin Atlantic singer Sam McTrusty says the band is looking forward to their time in South Africa. “It’s going to be a trip of a lifetime for us and something we never realised we could achieve with this band. Now that it’s just around the corner, we are really excited about getting to meet new people and cultures at the same time as playing our songs for music lovers in South Africa. We have been playing major festivals in the UK, North America, Europe and Australia so it’s with big smiles and pride that we can now say we have been to a whole new continent and rocked with people so far from home. See you soon!”

Since the release of Great Divide the album has produced three hit singles Heart and Soul; Brothers and Sister and Hold On. The fourth single off the album Fall into the Party will be released to SA Radio stations this month. Listen to the single here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kr_nQsPlSA

That much of Great Divide was written in the back of tour buses, late at night, after Twin Atlantic had stepped off yet another festival stage is evident from the first listen. McTrusty said: “Our adrenaline was through the roof because, for the first time, thousands of people had come to see us. I’d be in the lounge, unable to sleep, recording ideas on my phone, trying to make sense of the reaction we’d had to our songs. You can’t hear 10,000 people singing a chorus back at you and not be changed by it.”

“We’ve been through our punk rock rebellion phase and come out the other side,” laughs McTrusty. “We’ve all grown up being in this band. Dare I say it, we’re finally fully-formed adults. Since Free, some of us have got married and bought our own places and I’ve spent time in Canada because my girlfriend lives there. When the four of us got back together to work on this album, there was no bullshit. With our own lives sorted, it was easier to see the point of the songs and how we wanted them to sound. And, definitely, part of that was embracing pop.”

The bulk of Great Divide was recorded in Rockfield in Wales with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Pixies), who also helmed Free. Additional songs were recorded in the States with Jacknife Lee (Snow Patrol, U2, R.E.M.).

Twin Atlantic formed in 2007 when McTrusty and bassist Ross McNae, a friend from school, joined forces with drummer Craig Kneale and lead guitarist and occasional cello player Barry McKenna. All four had been in previous bands on the Glasgow scene. They bonded over a shared love of alternative rock, punk-pop and the city’s skate and street art scene, as well as a determination to make music their day jobs.

Their ferocious shows soon saw them booked to support Smashing Pumpkins, Biffy Clyro and their teen idols Blink 182. Within two years, they had played most major UK festivals and been signed, following a tip-off from Alan McGee, to American label Red Bull Records.

Twin Atlantic will be on stage at Oppikoppi -The Fantastic Mr. VosVos on Sunday, August 9. Tickets for the festival at https://plankton.mobi/Home/Index

Social media links:
http://www.twinatlantic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/twinatlantic
https://twitter.com/twinatlantic
https://instagram.com/twinatlantic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/twinatlantic

Twin Atlantic will be in SA in August. Photo: Dean Chalkley

Twin Atlantic will be in SA in August. Photo: Dean Chalkley

Great Divide is the new album from Twin Atlantic.

Great Divide is the new album from Twin Atlantic.

Marikana – The Musical returns to the State Theatre in Pretoria

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

Marikana – The Musical, winner of six Naledi Awards, returns to the stage at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria.

Adapted by acclaimed multi-award winning playwright and theatre director, Aubrey Sekhabi from the book We Are Going to kill Each Other Today- The Marikana Story penned by South African writers , Thanduxolo Jika, Felix Dlangamandla, Lucas Ledwaba, Sebabatso Mosamo, Athandwa Saba and Leon Sadiki, the musical looks at the events that led to the loss of 44 lives at the hands of the police and the miners. It goes back to the villages and townships where they came from and give faces and names to the fallen brothers, sons, fathers and uncles.

“Marikana – the Musical has been a humbling experience for us, awards, accolades and public demand it has been a real roller-coaster of emotions for me, the creative team and the cast we hope to continue using art to heal, mourn and most importantly to teach tolerance,” says director, Aubrey Sekhabi.

The 40 strong cast is led by Meshack “Mimi” Mavuso, Aubrey Poo, Emma Mmekwa, and Mpho “Mckenzie” Matome.

At the Naledi Theatre Awards 2014 Marikana – The Musical took home the awards for the best production of a musical (The South African State Theatre), best director (Aubrey Sekhabi), best performance in a musical: female (Emma Mmekwa), best set design (Wilhelm Disbergen), best musical score (Mckenzie Matone, Zakele Mabena and Aubrey Sekhabi), and best original choreography (Thabo Rapoo).

NEED TO KNOW

Marikana – The Musical will be staged in the Drama Theatre at the State Theatre in Pretoria from July 16 to August 16. Go to http://www.statetheatre.co.za/ for more details and to book.

Durban Art Gallery hosts thought-provoking exhibitions

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

THE associations between life and death are at the heart of Janet Solomon’s exhibition Green Screen which can be viewed at the Durban Art Gallery until June 28.

Speaking about the exhibition, which includes photographs and paintings, Solomon says that she is comparing the use of green screen in the digital world to the way in which museums traditionally display groups of people or animals in dioramas.

“The diorama is a construction similar to a stage set housed in a glass showcase and is intended to give a context to the reconstructed humans and animals,” she says. “This results in a false sense of reality, comparable to how the green screen manipulates the digital image.”

Photographed images of taxidermied animals trapped in artificial situations are accompanied by paintings of living people and creatures in natural environments and the ravages and threats of climate change and other ecological destruction.

The juxtapositions between the frozen moments of history and the ravages of the present examine ideas of freedom and entrapment and question how we look at the distance between object and subject.

Green Screen is Solomon’s fifth solo show and comprises of over 30 works created between 2011 and 2014.

Also at the gallery is Suikerbossie/Sugarbush, a one-woman show by Durban artist Janet Solomon, which interrogates Afrikaner culture and identity.

This grappling with identity is placed in the context of her family history and life experiences through video, digital collages, performance, drawing, ceramics, mixed media and sculptural installation.

“This interrogation forms part of a critical transformative inquiry which explores the death, rebirth and growth of my personal identity through art practice,” Maurel says.

“It is through writing and telling our stories we use the power of narratives to deconstruct and reconstruct new identities, in order to begin to heal.

“I have been struggling against Afrikaner myths and beliefs, such as the Afrikaner as the chosen people and the authority of the patriarch.

“Twenty years of democracy has brought about a multi-cultural environment, which is very different from that which existed when I grew up during apartheid. It has provided a space for a metamorphosis of my personal identity through an interrogation of Afrikaner culture and identity in my art practice.”

  • The Durban Art Gallery (DAG) is open Monday to Saturday from 8.30 am until 4 pm, and Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm. Entry is free. Inquiries: 031 311 2264/9. The DAG is on the second floor of the Durban City Hall building. Enter opposite the Playhouse.
Still image from: Suikerbosie video performance

Still image from: Suikerbosie video performance

Wishbone Ash will be performing four shows at Barnyard Theatres

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

Legendary twin guitar band, Wishbone Ash, will play four shows at Barnyard Theatres this July as part of their 2015 ”Live Dates Live” World Tour.

Fans can catch one of the most influential guitar bands in the history of rock, on Saturday, July 11 at 8pm at the Barnyard Cresta (Johannesburg), Sunday,July 12 at 2 pm at Barnyard Parkview (Pretoria), 8 pm on Wednesday, July 15 at the Barnyard Rivonia (Johannesburg) and at 8 pm on Saturday, July 18 at Barnyard Willowbridge (Cape Town).

Tickets are R250 – book online at www.barnyardtheatres.co.za or phone the relevant Barnyard Theatre.

Due to popular demand, the group will play tracks from their bestselling “Live Dates” album as well as tracks from their new studio album, “Blue Horizon”.

Formed in 1969, Wishbone Ash has done 24 original studio recordings, 10 live albums and four live DVDs along with a DVD rockumentary “This is Wishbone Ash”.

They have made records in both the United Kingdom and the United States, working with producers of the calibre of Tom Dowd (Cream, Clapton & Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Bill Szymczyk (Eagles, Joe Walsh & The Who).

The band is led by founding member Andy Powell on guitar and vocals, trading licks with Finland’s guitar wizard Muddy Manninen. Bassist Bob Skeat, a 17-year veteran of the band and in-demand studio musician, sets the pace with Joe Crabtree, one of the best of Britain’s new breed of drummers whose performance credits include Pendragon and David Cross of King Crimson.

Recorded on tour and released in 1973, “Live Dates” is Wishbone Ash’s best-selling album, even outpacing the perennially popular “Argus” (1972), which attained global gold status.

“We played all these old town halls in Britain in the 1970s and used the Rolling Stones mobile recording truck,” says Andy Powell. “These Victorian venues have great acoustics for rock and roll, so the sound to tape was overall really good; and the audiences were extremely lively, adding to the atmosphere. We had the luxury of choosing between many takes of different songs in many different locations.”

In 2014, Wishbone Ash released “Blue Horizon” to international acclaim. According to Powell, the new album’s diversity reflects the culmination of several factors.

“The band basically lives together year-round, so we have a very strong level of communication that translates in our performances and recordings,” says Powell. “We’ve come to an era where the industry has to pigeonhole a band as Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Heritage Rock and so on”.

Baroque 2000 hosts soprano Bronwen Forbay

/ stelsinkins / Leave a comment

Baroque 2000’s concert on Sunday, June 28 at 3 pm at the Church of the Monastery Mariannhill features Durban-born soprano Bronwen Forbay.

Forbay has won numerous international awards and prizes and now lives in the United States where she has a busy performing schedule. Opera magazine (UK) called her a ‘revelation… in ravishing voice, and showing singing of great subtlety, nuance and depth.’

In her collaboration with Baroque 2000 she will be soloist in Bach’s Cantata Non sa che sia dolore, BWV 209 for soprano, flute and strings. There are two other items on the programme: Handel’s Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 12 and Telemann’s “La Lyra” Suite.

Tickets will be R120 at the door; parking is ample and secure. For more information phone Michel at 082 303 5241 or email sursouth@iafrica.com

Boris Kerimov (cello), David Smith (harpsichord), Bronwen Forbay (soprano), Evelien Hagen (flute) and Ralitza Matcheva (concertmaster)

Boris Kerimov (cello), David Smith (harpsichord), Bronwen Forbay (soprano), Evelien Hagen (flute) and Ralitza Matcheva (concertmaster)