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08 December 2021
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Story Leonie Bolleurs
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Photo Sonia Small
The Office for International Affairs at the UFS recently hosted a delegation from the Namibia University of Science and Technology. Pictured here are, from the left, front: Seithati Ramonaheng, UFS International Scholarships in the Office for International Affairs (OIA); Dr Erling Kavita; Dr Erold Naomab; Prof Yonas Bahta; back: Kagiso Ngake, UFS Partnerships in the OIA; Cornelius Hagenmeier; Zenzele Mdletshe, UFS Partnerships in the OIA; and Dr Falko Buschke, Centre for Environmental Management.
The
Office for International Affairs (OIA) at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently (25 November 2021) hosted a delegation from the
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).
During deliberations, the two institutions discussed the possibility of formalising a partnership and it was agreed that the OIA would lead this process through its Partnership portfolio. The UFS and NUST are looking to work together and share information on the development of a COVID-19 vaccination policy, leveraging on the Germany/Namibia green hydrogen partnership, joining forces on the application for centres of excellence administered by the African Union, establishing staff and student exchange programmes, and intensifying their research collaborations.
Cornelius Hagenmeier, the Director of the Office for International Affairs (OIA) at the UFS, chaired the meeting with
Dr Erold Naomab, the Vice-Chancellor of NUST, and his adviser, Dr Erling Kavita.
Prof Yonas Bahta, Associate Professor in the UFS
Department of Agricultural Economics, and
Dr Falko Buschke, Senior Lecturer in the UFS
Centre for Environmental Management, also attended the meeting and reported on their existing academic collaborations with NUST.
‘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.