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14 October 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Sonia Small
OSM Camerata
The OSM Camerata also performed at the Rector’s Concert on 6 September under direction of conductor Elsabe Raath.


The Odeion School of Music Camerata (OSMC) is one of the flagship music ensembles at the University of the Free State (UFS). Its reputation as one of the country’s top student chamber ensembles far equlas its impeccable music.

At the end of September the Camerata undertook a tour with concerts in Pretoria and Johannesburg. They held a concert in the new Javett Arts Centre at the University of Pretoria (UP) where they presented a lunch-hour concert which featured modern musical arrangements. At a gala concert, on 28 September 2019, which was hosted in the Musaion Concert hall at UP they collaborated with the UP Department of Music and the Gauteng Chamber Music Festival.  

The last leg of the tour ended at the University of the Witwatersrand Atrium on 29 September 2019. According Marius Coetzee, innovation manager at the OSM: “it is important to go on tour in order to recruit new outstanding students and to showcase the excellence of the Camerata and the Odeion School of Music.” 

The OSMC has also forged a professional internship with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra to solidify and advance the skills of the young orchestral musicians. 

The OSMC was also the 2017 and 2018 winner of the International Ictus Music competition.  

The OSMC was strategically founded by Marius Coetzee to serve as a feasible incubator for nurturing of fully rounded musicians who are thoroughly prepared for the demands of their trade as orchestral musicians, soloists and conductors.  

News Archive

Young PhD graduate gets international attention
2010-02-22

Dr Nalize Marais
Photo: Supplied


The youngest ever PhD graduate from the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS), Dr Nalize Marais, has gained international recognition for her research study.

Her PhD thesis entitled Accountability and liability: an education law perspective on school leadership has been nominated for the Best Dissertation Award by the International Politics of Education Association. She will compete with two other finalists for this prestigious award.

The winner will be announced during the annual meeting and conference of the American Education Research Association (AERA) in Denver, Colorado, in April this year.

Dr Marais’ research study was driven by the principles of democracy founded in the advancement of human rights, equality and dignity. It dealt with issues of training and development in legislative knowledge and interpretation to empower school principals in their roles as accountable officers in a politically transforming environment.

She obtained her PhD at the September graduation ceremony of the UFS in 2009. She was only 27 years old when she submitted her thesis, making her the youngest person to obtain a PhD in Education at the UFS.

She is currently an instructional designer at the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development (CHESD) at the UFS.

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