Classical music festival celebrates SACM talent

Seven of the 12 talented young classical musical instrumentalists and singers who successfully auditioned for an opportunity to perform at the Western Cape Youth Music Festival next month are students at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) South African College of Music (SACM).

The festival, now in its 47th year, is presented by Artscape Theatre Centre and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). The concert, which usually plays to a sold-out auditorium, takes place at Artscape on Saturday, 1 September.

The SACM students who will be perform with the CPO, and who will all take a solo during the evening, are pianists Ian Bothma and Shaheel Kooverjee, Joshua Louis (violin), Uliana Alekseev (viola), Lihle Mabhula (flute), Sinesipho Funo (soprano) and Keanan Lyle Mitchell (tenor).

Four of the other performers are from Stellenbosch University, with eight-year-old Eléna Monvoisin, who is home-schooled and plays the piano, completing the line-up.

The composers chosen by the soloists include David Popper, Louis Spohr, Maurice Ravel, George Frideric Handel, Edward Elgar, Edvard Grieg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cécile Chaminade, Max Bruch, George Gershwin and Frédéric Chopin.

The orchestra will be conducted by Brandon Phillips, resident conductor and principal bassoon of the CPO, who also spends time with each soloist preparing them for the concert.

“Once again we are astounded at the standard of these young soloists,” said Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape Theatre Centre.

She welcomed the return of Kooverjee, who previously performed at the festival in 2015.

“We applaud the soloists, their teachers, music institutions and parents who nurture and support these young artists as this is a journey of many years,” she said. 

“Stepping onto the Artscape stage in performance with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra is a significant milestone in their careers.”

The show starts at 19:30.

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