And now for something completely different

If you need to see things from a new perspective and want to mainline some positive energy, make your way to one of the Miagi New Skool Orchestra concerts that are lined up for the first week in March.

Described by the Berlin media as “A Revolution in the Concert Hall” during their tour last year, South African music lovers who haven’t yet caught these musicians in a live concert should make a plan.

Miagi’s work through the Youth Orchestra over the past 14 years has resulted in an exciting and extremely innovative new form of music called “New Skool” which, after having been performed to full halls and standing ovations at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, has stolen hearts.

Because of this huge audience and media success of the New Skool Orchestra abroad, during last year’s Miagi Tour of Europe, Celebrating South Africa’s 20 Years of Democracy, they received an invitation to perform at the Woordfees in Stellenbosch. They’re using this opportunity to present a short national tour.

Apart from the Woordfees performance on March 6, they also join Ahmed Kathrada and his foundation in organising a concert at Wits Great Hall on March 4 at 8pm where Kathrada will give a short opening speech.

The orchestra will be conducted by Tshepo Tsotetsi who started New Skool and another young South African conductor from the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, Brandon Phillips. The soloist is again, like in 2014, the renowned Swedish soprano saxophonist and composer, Anders Paulsson. He has an extraordinary South African connection because he also performed during Nelson Mandela’s Nobel Prize ceremony and to watch him play with this young orchestra is something special. As a musician, he has totally bought into their music and the rhythms of their sound.

About the programme:

Paulsson was commissioned in 2013 to write a piece for last year’s Youth Orchestra tour. Celebration Suite was premiered at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. He composed the piece in five movements with Paulsson himself playing generous solo parts. He has incorporated familiar South African songs including Shosholoza; Thina Sizwe, a lament about the loss of tribal land; themes from some of Miriam Makeba’s a cappella folk songs and riffs; and a blues piece drawn from Shangaan tribal themes originally played on kudu horns. Also on the programme: compositions by Tsotetsi including some of his most popular and loved tunes such as Mbira, A Bubble is a Good Friend to Have and Iyonna Ma Weh, music by Zakes Nkosi as well as the orchestral piece Other Kudoda, that will open the concerts, and another commissioned work by young orchestra member, Ilke Alexander.

But it is in the performance with the guidance of the buoyant Tsotetsi that this group of vibrant musicians are quite overwhelming. They make magical music, but it is also the way that they present themselves and the performance, which is all about youthful exuberance, a love for life and a joy in making music, that turns this into something quite extraordinary.

• Together with Miagi’s principal funder, NLDTF, and funding from national and several foreign governments, Miagi also enjoys support from Lanxess whose long-term investment in youth orchestras all over the world is inspirational and lead to a supporting grant from Basa. The support enables Miagi to run its music projects, among them also a flourishing music education and community centre in Soweto, the Cape Gate Miagi Centre for Music which includes a pre-school and day care centre music training programme.

CONCERT DETAILS

• Wednesday, March 4 at 8pm in the Wits Great Hall: Deepening Non-Racialism concert with opening words by Ahmed Kathrada, presented by Miagi together with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. Tickets two hours before event at the door; or to reserve, call 012 320 5154; or e-mail Munashe [email protected].

• Friday, March 6 at 5.30pm in the KykNET Endler, Stellenbosch University, Woordfees Festival. Tickets at Computicket

• Saturday, March 7 at 4pm

at Spier Estate, The Living Arts Foundation Hall, Community Concert. On invitation only – if you would like to receive an invitation, please call 079 664 4405 or e-mail [email protected].