Former CEO of Artscape Michael Maas passed away on Tuesday, March 14, at the age of 67.
Artscape management confirmed Maas’ passing in a statement shared with IOL Entertainment on Wednesday afternoon.
“Artscape mourns the loss of our beloved former CEO Michael Maas who sadly passed away last night. Born on November 1, 1955, he died peacefully on March 14,” read the statement.
Maas stepped down as the CEO of Artscape in October 2014 after being with the theatre company for 18 years.
Current Artscape CEO Marlene le Roux said she was shattered and saddened by the devastating news of Maas, along with the Artscape family.
A memorial was hosted at the Artscape in honour of Maas.
Le Roux served under Maas’s tenure as the director of audience development and education before assuming the role of CEO in 2015.
“What a sad day for all of us,” Le Roux said as Artscape paid tribute to Maas in the lit-up chandelier foyer at midday.
“Mr Maas, with dignity, did the transition from Capab (Cape Performing Arts Board) days to Artscape as it stands today.
“Mr Maas will be remembered in all the corners of Artscape, on its stages, through the music that we’re going to play on the stage, the chorus that we’re going to sing, the dancing that’s going to be on stage.”
Maas joined Capab as the managing company of the then Nico Malan Theatre in 1996.
He successfully drove the transformation process of the company from a producing institution to a receiving house inclusive of all art genres and artists as the institution equally changed its name to Artscape, circa 1999.
One of the pivotal moments of his illustrious career was towards the end of 2012 when Artscape announced a multimillion-rand plan to revamp the then 43-year-old complex into a comprehensive cultural facility with a distinctive African persona.
“Mr Maas’s memory will always be in the space of Artscape. We will be forever grateful for the way that he has paved for Artscape, with humility and with dignity, to what we are today.
“Mr Maas’s memory will always be treasured. His contribution to the arts industry and to Artscape, in particular, remains immense. We will always celebrate his legacy and hold him forever in our hearts.
“Our most heartfelt condolences to his wife Aileen, family friends and all his loved ones.
“The Artscape family will forever hold dearest ‘Mr Maas’ in our thoughts. We remain deeply saddened.”
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) also paid tribute to Maas in a heartfelt Facebook post.
The organisation thanked Maas for his immense contribution, particularly to the development of young artists.
“Our sincere condolences to the family of former Artscape CEO Michael Maas who passed away last night,” read the Facebook statement.
“As a lover of classical music, Michael will be remembered for his immense contribution to the development of young musicians through his involvement as chairperson of the National Youth Music Competition.
“Michael was a founding member of the project in 1984 and continued to steer its development through many iterations over decades to its current format where the finalists get to perform with the CPO in the final round.
“Many of the young musicians who have excelled in the NYMC over the years are now professional musicians in South Africa and abroad. We remember him affectionately for the contributions he made to our industry and for the kind leader that he was,” concluded the statement.
Artscape is also mourning the loss of three colleagues who died over the past months.
Former theatre manager John Hawkins died on January 16 after a short illness. Just two days later Artscape’s foyer technical co-ordinator, Reuben Fillies, died on January 18.
On February 25, Ruben Thomas died. Thomas had worked at Artscape for 34 years, starting off at Capab as a stage hand on January 1, 1989.
On March 11, another member of the Artscape family, Nazeem “Smiley” Trout, died.
“Artscape is going through a journey of saying goodbye to people that have given their lives to this building. So this year we said goodbye to colleagues that were passionate about this building and the arts.
“We stand humbly in front of them because they paved the way in the light of what they had given to Artscape,” said Le Roux.