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03 March 2021 | Story Giselle Baillie | Photo Supplied
Residence members who led the project, included: Bohlokwa Rantja, the Residence Prime, and Transformation Committee members Nsuku Mutemela, Ofentse Motlakeng, Phindile Tjale, Madinku Mabala, Mmapopi Motshoso, Karabo Shuping, and Tagane Sekete.
The University of the Free State (UFS) Council approved and adopted Lehakwe House as the new name for the NJ van der Merwe residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. The approval on 26 November 2020 followed a lengthy process of deliberation, consultation, and public engagement that has taken place since November 2019 and is aligned with the UFS Policy on Naming and Renaming. The name-change process was initiated by the Prime and Transformation Committee of the residence, guided by the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice and supported by a multi-stakeholder committee representative of the residence, the Housing and Residence Affairs Office, the Department of Student Affairs, the Student Representative Council, and alumni.

Lehakwe – a precious gem

Following a lengthy evaluation process of the names submitted through a public voting and recommendation platform in July 2020, ‘Lehakwe’ – a Sesotho word referring to a ‘precious gem’ – emerged as the front runner. As many current and past members of the residence attest, this womxn’s residence has come to occupy a significant space within the hearts and minds of UFS students and the UFS community, given that its spirit has always been closely aligned with the constitutional values of dignity, equality, and freedom and with the human values of ubuntu. In this vein, the new name of ‘Lehakwe’ presents a consolidation of constitutional and university values into the day-to-day thinking, learning, living, and legacy spaces of students, as well as everyone who interacts and engages with the UFS. 

News Archive

Odeion School of Music launches new Organ Chair
2015-09-16



Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek

The Odeion School of Music (OSM) at the University of the Free State (UFS) has become the first in the country to launch an Organ Chair, named after seasoned international organist Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek.

Over the last two decades South African has seen a decline in organ student numbers. The School of Music has taken the initiative by deploying experts and instructors to coach and mentor OSM students, in an effort to increase their chances of excelling in the international music scene.

The Organ Chair is an entity of the International Artistic Mentorship Programme (IAMP), which aims to establish partnerships between successful international musicians and OSM students. It is within this context that the OSM decided to launch the institutionalisation of an Organ Chair in a programme scheduled to take place from 8 -13 September 2015 in the Bloemfontein Campus and in surrounding areas.

Meet the expert

Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek is a French-South African organist and pedagogue, who is well versed in the music profession. This bodes well for our university’s music students.  Initially educated by the great Stephanus Zondagh at the University of Pretoria while still a school pupil, Liesbeth’s passion for music has soared to great height since then.

Some of her accolades include winning the prestigious SABC Music Prize in 1985, and the International Organ Competition held in Bordeaux in 1989.

Liesbeth has worked with distinguished organists at the France Conservatoire National de Ruiel-Malmaison, the Conservatoire National de Région, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon, and is the organist at Reformed Church of Etoile in Paris. In 2010, she was an adjudicator at the Chartres International Organ Competition, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the organ world.

This active recitalist and masterclass pedagogue facilitated classes attended by master students from Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Potchestroom, and workshops as part of launching the Liesbeth Schlumberger-Kurpershoek OSM Organ Chair.

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