Music lovers are in for a treat at Wakkerstroom’s festival
One of the objectives of the festival is to create an inclusive opportunity for both young and upcoming artists and established artists to share the same stage.
Wakkerstroom Music Festival will showcase classical music for the 11th consecutive year from 19 to 22 March.
Visitors will be treated to a jam-packed programme with 39 performances and a workshop for choir conductors, addressing conducting, singing, musicianship, performance and vocal pedagogy.
The festival opens with a performance of a concert version of Verdi’s La Traviata in the Dutch Reformed Church on Thursday, 19 March at 8pm.
Dr Riekie van Aswegen will present the workshop on Friday, 20 March and the rest of the weekend offers a wide selection of classical music concerts to cater to everyone’s taste.
A unique concert, Between the notes, where classical ballet and music of Granados, Brel and Piaf are combined to a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday with some works for cello and piano can be listened to.
The Integration Trio will bring influences from various avenues of musical inspiration into music written and arranged for saxophone, percussion and piano.
Matthew Lombard (saxophone), Gerben Grooten (percussion) and Annalien Ball (piano) make up this dynamic trio to bring a variety of colours together through the integration of three unique groups of instruments.
Sonja van Zyl (piano) and Morné van Heerden (clarinet) also present a concert filled with diversity and excitement with jazz, Jewish, classical and folk music, and in Zarzuela, operetta is combined with German operetta.
Other highlights to look forward to are The African Renaissance Ensemble performing arrangements for instruments and voices ranging from the Renaissance period into late Baroque, a classical guitar recital by Thinus Boshoff with music by Spanish composers and an organ recital by Theo van Wyk where the polyphonic masterpieces of the Baroque period will be entwined with seminal works from the Romantic, Classical and 20th century, including works by South African composers.
As usual, there will be classical jazz concerts and the Pretoria-based brass ensemble, Cantina Brass’ concert with theme-music from well-known and lesser-known films is also not to be missed.
One of the objectives of the festival is to create an inclusive opportunity for both young and upcoming artists and established artists to share the same stage.
Online bookings will open on 24 February and can be made by accessing the Wakkerstroom Music Festival’s webpage: www.wmfestival.co.za.
Any queries can be sent to info@wmfestival.co.za
Information: Wakkerstroom Music Festival
