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07 March 2018 Photo Supplied
Kovsie athletes ready for Varsity athletics TSepang Sello
Ts’epang Sello, one of the Kovsie contenders for a medal at Friday’s Varsity athletics meeting.

Ts’epang Sello, one of the Kovsie contenders
for a medal at Friday’s Varsity athletics meeting.
Photo: Supplied

The University of the Free State will hope to start developing their next Wayde van Niekerk when the first Varsity athletics meeting takes place on Friday at the Tuks Athletics Stadium in Pretoria.

The second meeting is on 23 March, also in Pretoria.

Thirteen members (five men and eight women) of the Kovsie team of 25 are still under the age of 21.

The hope for medals among the men would be on Sefako Mokhosoa (triple jump), Hendrik Maartens, and Tsebo Matsoso (both 200 m). Mokhosoa, who represented South Africa last year at the Southern Region Championships, is in red-hot form and achieved a personal best of 16.13 m at the Motheo/Xhariep meeting two weeks ago. This is currently the third best distance in the country for 2018.

Maartens would like to go one step further. In last year’s final Varsity meeting, he finished second in 20.62. Great things are expected of Matsoso, a first-year student who competed at the African Junior Championship in 2017. Last year, he was one of the top athletes at school level by winning the SA title in a time of 21.14. 

Ts’epang Sello (800 m) and Elmé Smith (100 m and 200 m) will lead the charge for the women. Sello already came close to her personal best (2:09.8) this year, while Smith has also been running fast times. Her best this year was 11.88 (100 m) and 24.53 (200 m). 

Tyler Beling (1 500 m) is another first-year student who is showing great potential. She obtained a fourth position at last weekend’s CAA Southern Region Cross-country Championships. Maryke Brits (100 m hurdles and long jump) is a possible medallist, despite running her first event for the year on Wednesday night.

The meeting starts at 17:15 and will be broadcast on SuperSport 5.

News Archive

Maestros from the world stage now lecture at the Odeion School of Music
2014-02-19

 
Prof Ruth Goveia

 
Danré Strydom

 
George Foster

The Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently endorsed its commitment to excellence with the appointment of three exceptional performing artists and lecturers.

Prof Ruth Goveia (piano), Danré Strydom (clarinet and saxophone) and George Foster (brass instruments) all hold international qualifications. In addition, all of them have received tutelage from world-renowned mentors and performed across the globe. Their respective CVs are awe-inspiring – to say the least.

Prof Goveia has been appointed as an associate professor at our university. She obtained her doctorate in Music in Piano from the Jacobs School of Music at the Indiana University, USA, after completing her master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati. Prof Goveia has gained immeasurable experience while holding positions at several prestigious institutions, including the Albion College in Michigan and the Indiana University.

As a soloist, Prof Goveia’s performances are staggering. She has appeared in a number of recitals across America and even performed as a guest artist at the Kalamazoo College of Music. She took part in the Chamber Music Project of the New York-based Artur Balsam Foundation, and collaborated with clarinetist Randall Paul on a duo tour of Georgia and Alabama.

Danré Strydom has been appointed as a junior lecturer in clarinet and saxophone. She will also co-ordinate the woodwind programme at the OSM. Her training began in Windhoek, Namibia, and continued on to the prestigious Jacobs School of Music in Indiana, USA. From there she joined the Ghent Conservatoire in Belgium, reading for two master’s degrees – completing both cum laude. Strydom has performed with several renowned orchestras ranging from the Vlaams Brabant Symphony (Belgium) to the Sinfonietta Breda (Netherlands).

George Foster is filling the position of a junior lecturer in brass instruments. He completed his BMus degree at the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town where he received the Anton Rupert Merit prize. As former Fulbright scholar, Foster read for a master’s degree in Music at the University of North Texas. During his study period in the USA he was a member of the University of North Texas Wind Band, the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra. Here, he gained invaluable experience as a conductor as well.

Strydom and Foster are performing their duties at the Free State Symphony Orchestra (FSSO), as well as the OSM. They will both play an integral role as musicians and collaborators within the activities and initiatives of the FSSO, and serve as coaches and instructors for the Free State Youth Orchestra.

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