Thursday, 27 March 2014

ODEION

19:30

On 27 March 2014 the Odeion School of Music will present its annual Opening Concert. 

During the first half of the programme top students and lecturers of the OSM (Danrè Strydom, Luzanne Eigelaar, Lesley-Ann Mathews and Heinrich Lategan) will perform, followed by the OSM Camerata (OSMC) performing together with OSM vocal students under tutolage of Peet van Heerden and members of the Odeion Choir (Lance Phillip) in the second half.  The OSMC will be conducted by Xavier Cloete.  In this programme two short excerpts from Idomineo (Mozart) and Fidelio (Beethoven) as well as Valse triste by Sibelius will be performed.  OSM MMus student Werner Stander will be serving as assistant conductor for Xavier Cloete. 

In 2011 Xavier Cloete completed a BMus degree at the University of Stellenbosch with bassoon and orchestral conducting as main instruments. He is currently employed by the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra (KZNPO) as the assistant conductor for the KZNPO Youth Orchestra.  In 2013 he won the second National Len van Zyl Conductor's Competition.  After winning this competition, he was selected as one of the top 200 successful young people in South Africa, and appeared in the national Mail and Guardian newspaper during March 2013.

As the winner of the competition, Xavier completed a conducting internship with the famous Philadelphia Orchestra which gave him the opportunity to work with acclaimed conductors such as Christoph von Donyani, Andre Bureko as well as Yannick Nezet-Seguin.  He then studied conducting at the Bienen School of Music (Northwestern University) in the Advanced Graduate Conducting Class of Prof Victor Yampolski.

Xavier was invited to attend the first Sasha Mäkilä International Master Classes (Finland) during January 2013 where he conducted the St Michel's City Orchestra.  He will be making his international debut with the St Michel's City Orchestra (Finland) during April 2014.

The OSMC participated in 2013 in the 13th International Conservatoire Festival which was hosted at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatoire in St Petersburg (Russia) where they received a standing ovation during their gala performance in the Glazonov Hall.  In 2013 the OSMC performed during the CD recording of Cello for Africa (Cello Concerto for an African Cellist by Hans Huyssen) with SA cellist Heleen Du Plessis.  The CD was internationally released on the New Zealand label for Classical Music ODE records. In March 2014 this CD was nominated for the The Violoncello Foundation - 2nd Listeners' Choice Award in NY.

ADMISSION:

R110 (adults), R70 (pensioners), R60 (UFS staff), R40 (students & learners), R40 (block booking of 10+)

Tickets available at Computicket

PLEASE NOTE: ALL UFS STAFF QUALIFY FOR A DISCOUNT FOR THIS EVENT!! CONTACT NINETTE PRETORIUS  (PretoriusN@ufs.ac.za) FOR MORE INFORMATION AT X2504