EDITOR – Durban is in a very fortunate position to be the home of one of the leading orchestra’s in Africa in The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic.
Also catering for Baroque music fans is the annual Baroque 2000 concert series.
Durban is also the home of one of the largest chamber music societies on the African continent in the NPO, Friends of Music.
Friends of Music host more than 20 recitals a year which feature top international, national and local artists. The society also has a unique “Prelude Performer” development initiative where a young artist is featured for 10 minutes at each recital to give them the experience of performing on a professional stage.
However we feel that the future of classical music in our city is at cross-roads. Despite the availability of world class offerings, Friends of Music, along with the other serious music facilitators, are experiencing a reduction in audience numbers and interest.
We feel that one of the reasons for this may the minimal amount of publicity offered to this type of music over other genres. It is possible that the public by and large just don’t know what is on offer.
While we are very grateful for the assistance we receive from your publication we appeal to you to make a concerted effort to inform the public of the rich and varied classical music performances which take place in Durban. It is important that Durban’s reputation as a supporter of all cultures be upheld.
It would be a tragedy if in an era when the arts in general are struggling for survival the availability of live classical music was lost to our city.
Dr Vera Dubin
Chairperson of Friends of Music
