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15 June 2018
Photo Sonia Small
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, paid a special visit to the Springboks on Friday 15 June 2018 to wish the four former Kovsies good luck for the test match against England on Saturday (16 June 2018).
From the left are: Jacques Nienaber, Oupa Mohoje, Prof Petersen, Rassie Erasmus, and Swys de Bruin.
Listen to Prof Petersen's message to the Springboks here.
Former Kovsies are in abundance in the management team to face England in the second test in Bloemfontein on Saturday (16 June 2018).
No less than four of the management team, including three of the five coaches, are Kovsies, having studied at the University of the Free State (UFS) previously. They are Rassie Erasmus (head coach), Jacques Nienaber (defence coach), Swys de Bruin (consultant for attacking play), and Vivian Verwant (physiotherapist). Nienaber is also a qualified physio who started his career in this role at Shimlas before advancing to coaching later on. Erasmus and De Bruin both donned the blue jersey.
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, paid a special visit to the Springboks’ hotel in Bloemfontein on Friday morning (15 June 2018) to wish Erasmus and company good luck for the test. “I just want to wish you all the best. The entire Kovsie community is behind you and the Springboks, and we only want one result tomorrow,” Prof Petersen said.
Erasmus, who studied at the UFS in the early 1990s, said it was a joyful week in Bloemfontein. “It is good to be here. We really enjoyed the facilities, having trained at Shimla Park with all its good memories. Hopefully the result will be good tomorrow. We are proud former Kovsies, with quite a few of us here,” Erasmus said.
Although he won’t play on Saturday, loose forward Oupa Mohoje is still part of the training squad. Ox Nche, who was released from the squad on Sunday (10 June 2018), became the 76th Kovsie Springbok in the match against Wales on 2 June 2018.
‘Celebrating the music of our times’
2013-07-25
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| 25 July 2013 |
The Odeion School of Music’s (OSM) New Music Week, hosted from 17–20 July 2013, offered an experience of profundity.
This was the second week-long festival of its kind to be hosted by the OSM – last year the 90th birthday of the South African composer, Stefans Grové, was celebrated with concerts and a symposium. This year the New Music Week focused on the visit of Ensemble Trans-Z under the artistic leadership of former OSM student, Alfred Vorster, a composer living in Zürich. The Order of the Odeion School of Music was bestowed upon Vorster during the festival. The members of the ensemble are the Belgian pianist Lukas Huisman, Danré Strydom (currently an OSM doctoral student in clarinet, based in Ghent), the Argentinian violinist Juan Braceras and the Swedish cellist Karolina Öhman (both currently living in Basel, Switzerland).
The week included three lectures. Lukas Huisman elucidated his doctoral project, Alfred Vorster offered an analytical perspective on the work of Helmut Lachenmann and Hannes Taljaard (Potchefstroom) delivered a commentary on his own
composition practice. In addition to presenting masters’ classes in their individual instruments, Ensemble Trans-Z also hosted two workshops – one for the Mangaung String Project and another for OSM students and staff. These workshops focused on creative improvisation practices within an avant-garde style.
The highlight of the festival was two gala concerts that were held on 19 and 20 July. The first concert was hosted by Ensemble Trans-Z themselves, with a selection of compositions in the avant-garde style. The programme included challenging listening material and was creatively presented with unconventional lighting techniques and visual material.
The concert on 20 July consisted of New Music of a more conventional nature. The Odeion String Quartet offered a varied presentation which consisted of a rich mix of talent. OSM postgraduate students Marianne Cilliers, Karol Legierski and Eljee du Plooy formed part of this spectacular performance. The OSM flute lecturer, Handri Loots and the members of Ensemble Trans-Z supplied additional depth to the concert. The experience was made extra special by the recently-formed New Music Ensemble of the School of Music at the North-West University – led by Augusto Arias. Under conductorship of Jan-Moritz Onken, the OSM Camerata completed this impressive collaboration.
The Camerata’s recital of Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Phantom Waltz, which the composer newly arranged especially for this ensemble, was but one of the artistic highlights of an inspiring presentation.