South Africa
"Meet the Composer" Global Connections
Coming Home & Two More Premieres
It is 4:15 in the morning now, so you can see that I am adjusting well to the time change. I awoke at 1:30, and felt fresh and invigorated for the new day! So, wrapping up the trip now, there are several closing remarks and links that I want to provide for Blog readers so you can learn more about Sontonga, Owl House, ILAM, and South Africa.
The Sontonga Quartet will be touring the U.S. in the fall of 2006, and if you are interested in booking them please view their site www.sontongaquartet.com or contact contact Marc Uys.
The Owl House Foundation is currently raising funds for several projects. The documentary film needs additional funding to complete the editing, production and distribution of the film. Secondly, they would like to have This is My World republished by Oxford University Press. Oxford has requested pre-payment of the publication costs. Perhaps a pre-publication subscription by individuals, along with some donations will complete this funding. They have raised 25,ooo Rands to date, which is one quarter of the production costs. Restoration of the camel yard sculptures is also needed, due to gradual decline from outdoor wear and tear.
The International Library of African Music at Rhodes University has a wealth of information, recordings, and instruments from throughout Africa.
TWO MORE PREMIERES
I have two premieres coming up in mid-May: the orchestral version of Cloven Dreams, and Ten Day Miner for Concert Band. These are both in association with my school residencies. Please come to the concerts if you are in Northern California, and would like to hear the sounds of Africa, or the blasting of the Cornish Miners down in the gold mines of the Sierra Foothills!
Cloven Dreams for Orchestra
San Francisco School of the Arts, Theatre Auditorium
Saturday, May 14, 7:30 p.m.
Ten Day Miner for Concert Band
Magnolia Intermediate Gold Band
Cottage Hill Elementary School Auditorium
Wednesday, May 18, 6:30 p.m.
Final Sontonga Concert
IWe finished most of the filming today, and Sontonga played an afternoon concert for the villagers. As you can see, the front row was filled with children, and the repertoire was tailored to the audience. A movement of Haydn String Quartet, Op. 77, No. 1, Schumann 3rd Quartet, 2nd movement, Cloven Dreams, a movement of a Peter Klatzow Quartet(UCT), the Pizzicato Polka by Strauss, and arrangements by Mattheis van Dijk of Voodoo Child and Paint it Black.
We went to a great brewery after the concert with extraordinary beer and cheeses. The cheeses were direct from their two goats. The goat cheese was blended with olives and a liquor and served with sweet beet roots and brown bread. Combine this with a tasty dark beer, and we were all in heaven…
The Village
I managed to get out early this morning to get some pictures of the countryside in the early morning light. The birdsong breaks the morning silence with continuous, yet varied calls. The light is amazing – it is their fall light – and the reds, yellows, and whitescreate a kind of Tuscan palette. The township lies just at the base of a hillside, and is about four city blocks from the village. Smoke rises, creating a thick cloud above the houses. You can hear dogs yelping, children crying, and see people leaving early to get to work. It is a very different world from the silent early morning ‘village proper’.
Documentary
Mark Wilby, the curator of Owl House, started developing the idea for this documentary several months ago. Over the past year I’ve been e-mailing him about the prospect of a Meet the Composer (MTC) grant, and then about the process of writing Cloven Dreams, and finally planning the trip to South Africa after receiving the MTC grant.
His aim is to create a film documenting the creative process related to the the music written about Owl House. Today we filmed the Sontonga Quartet in the camel yard playing Cloven Dreams. In our evening session, Owl House was illuminated with paraffin lanterns, and the glass-covered walls glittered late into the night (well, 1:30 a.m.). Tommorow the crew finishes up the final shots, and then Sontonga will give a concert for the village in the afternoon.
Cloven Dreams
Cloven Dreams was commissioned by Tessa Brinckman in 2003 for flute and string trio. The piece was immediately orchestrated for full orchestra, and then re-orchestrated for string quartet when I began planning this trip to South Africa to work with the Sontonga Quartet.
Tessa lent me a reference copy of This is My World by Sue Imrie Ross, and Hugh Tracey’s African field recordings from the 1940’s as a basis for Cloven Dreams. Both the field recordings and the images had an incaluable influence on the compositional process.
The piece lays down a groove that is based on the African field recordings, and gradually introduces bird sounds, and various utterances from the other strings. This evolves into a dense rhythmic interplay, similar to the hocketing of the African marimba family with three to four players. The first section has a lively, playful feeling that reflects the bouyant quality of the Camel Yard. This gradually builds to a more complex and vibrant climax.
We enter the Owl House with the sudden introduction of the ebostinato in the violin. The static, almost eerie sound is very evocative, and represents the red stillness within Owl House. The tremelo in the violin evokes the rustling of the thornbush; muted flautando parallel fourths a glass-like quality, like the glistening stained glass and tiny crushed glass framents that permeate the walls and ceilings. The sparseness of this section ends when the Little Devil comes to life. (The Little Devil is the one being that was created entirely by Helen Martins, the rest having been fashioned by her assistants from the village).
The final section of the piece begins with the Little Devil dancing an irregular rhythmic figure as it enters the Camel Yard for the first time. Her Little Devil shadow-side is finally permitted out into the world. A kind of musical redemption for Martins, Cloven Dreams presents the healing and integration of her Little Devil when it dances with the rest of the archetypal images Martins has created in the Camel Yard.
Nieu-Bethesda / Owl House
Driving into Nieu-Bethesda yesterday afternoon was like arriving in Mecca after a long journey. The camel yard was alight with late afternoon sun, and the figures gradually turned to shadow as the cold crept into the high-desert mountain air. The camel yard was more playful and amusing than I had realized. Juxtaposing the owls, camels, peacocks, mona lisas, and mermaids, creates a playful flurry of activity.
Glass is imbedded in many of the figures, and the foliage around the camel yard has an interesting way of ornamenting the figures. There is a preponderance of mythic figures in the yard, with numerous wise men, the baby jesus in the manger, pyramids, and sphinxes. The massive rush of figures heading towards Oos (East) is so congested, that it is ominously reminiscent of an uncontrollable compulsive disorder to create (the figures).
Owl House has created an industry for the townspeople who sell replicas of Owl House figures, jewelry, lamps, and key chains with little owls on them. Koos, Helen Martins’ last assistant, was an important figure in Helens’ life, and it feels like the people who are making the Owl House figures are continuing the Koosian tradition of sculpting for a living in this tiny village.
Rhodes University Upcoming Concerts
We are in Grahamstown, at Rhodes University, and the environment here is more conducive to music-making than UCT. The faculty and students seem very appreciative that we are here, and are really taking advantage of the opportunity. Sontonga has been hosting master classes with pianists over the past few days, while I have been working with Andrew Tracey at the International Library of African Music (ILAM).
There is a major collection of African Instruments and field recordings at ILAM. Hugh Tracey started the tradition of collecting these field recordings all over Africa in the 1930’s. His son Andrew has continued that tradition for many years, and is just about to retire from Rhodes. I have been studying Ulimba with a Malawin musician since I have been here. There are three of us at the instrument at a time, each with two mallets. Everything is displaced by a 16th note, so there an amazing pattern of rhythmic and melodic interest that results.
The next two concerts with Cloven Dreams are tonight in Grahamstown, and Sunday afternoon in Port Elizabeth. Then we’ll be filming in Nieu-Bethesda during the week, and will have another concert next Saturday afrernoon, perhaps at the Owl House.
Sat 23 April 20:00
Beethoven Room, Grahamstown
Haydn Op. 77 no. 1
Reynolds Cloven Dreams
Schumann Piano Quintet with students from Rhodes University
Sun 24 April 16:00
UPE (University of Port Elizabeth) Auditorium
Port Elizabeth
Haydn Op. 77 no. 1
Peter Klatzow String Quartet no 3
Reynolds Cloven Dreams
Schumann String Quartet Op. 41 no.3
Sontonga Quartet
The Sontonga Quartet has made itself such an organic part of the South African music scene, that one hates imagine the barren landscape of chamber music without them. They are the only full time professional (classical) ensemble in South Africa. They have no sense of complacency, in spite of the empty playing field. They play a wide range of African music, and continue to expand an impressive repertoire of standard classical and contimporary works for string quartet.
They have a fresh approach, and a seemingly limitless amount of energy to investigate repertoire. They tour South Africa, Europe, Russia, and will be going to New York for concerts this June in conjunction with the release of a new series of films.
This work is augmented by their community outreach that includes coaching chamber music, teaching in the townships, and bringing music into new and unusual venues. They continue to expand their work in the townships, and receive national funding for their work.
Garden Route Tour
11 April, 2005 – Seaview Game Park
The Game Park in Seaview has a lion rehab facility, and there are four 12-week-old cubs that are being raised by the staff at the park. The cubs are taken away from their mothers after only one week. In captivity, the mothers believe that they are unable to feed their young well enough for them to reach adulthood. They will allow their cubs to die, rather than lead them into an uncertain future.
There are two other pregnant females that are both due in three weeks, so the caretakers will need to juggle the new infants. along with these young cubs.
This game reserve is a bit like Noah’s ark, with two giraffes, two zebras, then expanding to several lions, three tigers (all siblings), a herd of wildebeasts, several monkeys and peacocks, and the odd tortoise. Managing the wild animals in South Africa is a huge challenge that is being met in various ways, including private game reserves, and public reserves such as Addo elephant park.
10 April, 2005 – Nothando Backpackers
A “retired” Afrikaans couple started Nothando Backpackers in Plettenberg Bay eight years ago. The place runs like clockwork, and they serve an enormous breakfast every morning with fresh muffins, streudelettes, eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, coffee or tea. They have a good system to avoid burn-out – four managers, four days off at a time, with a staff of four or five others. The owner (Charles) just laughed when I remarked on the organzation – he’d been in the SA military for 27 years, rising to the rank of colonel. His wife also worked for the military, but as a civilian…
Let me assure you, the rooms are spotless, breakfast is served on time, and they offer a shuttle service from the hotel to any of the local activities such as the Knysna Elephant Park, Monkeyland, sailing, or dolphin watching in the Bay. To learn more about them go to Nothando.
For the next two months there are two French girls staying there while they practice English with the staff and visitors. Audrey provided the perfect opportunity for me to use all the French that has been accumulating from the French CD’s that I’ve been listening to on Highway 80 over the past several months. I’ve been dragging my Afrikaans books around, and on my last day in Plett, Eunice gave me my first Afrikaans lesson, using my Learn Colloquial Afrikaans primer.
Knysna Elephant Park
The Knysna Elephant Park is a rehab center for elephants, and has twelve elephants at the moment. There is a tremendous struggle here in South Africa to find adequate space for the elephants which require about 300 acres in the wild. The overpopulation problem has created a lot of controversy because of the history of poaching, and near extinction of the elephant in South Africa.
There are now about 2,000 excess elephants in Kruger, and they are trying to work out an expanded zone, including Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The fences have come down to create a larger game park with the continguous game reserves, but the matriarchal leaders of the herds will not stay in the new areas. Between the conditioning of the previous electric fences, and the matriarchial teachings, the elephants are reluctant to leave their known territory.
9 April, 2005
The shantytowns lie just outside of the more developed ‘European’ style cities and towns. The fishing boats in Plettenberg Bay provide 30% of the income for those living on the outskirts. The main fish here is Hake, a firm white fish, 80% of which is exported to Europe and served in restaurants within 48 hours of its capture in Plett.
The ecosystem of the waters around the towns of the Cape are carefully monitored. I have been gratified to see the level of awareness that people have about sustainability, reducing toxicity in the water, and maintaining a good balance between the various species that live in the area.
Great Ocean Blue ran a tour in the Plett bay this morning to watch the dolphins and seals. There were dolphins that came within two metres of the beach, jumping through the waves. Scores of them staying very close to land to avoid the great whites that co-habit the bay with them.It is not easy to catch the dolphins on film, but I did manage to capture the fins in this shot…
The fur seals were stunning, and abundant. They clustered on the rocky shores of a land mass on the north side of the bay that used to be part of the Falklands. This is also where there had been early shipwrecks, and stories abound about the Portugese sailors that built small vessels out of the remains of their ship to return to Cape Town and Mozambique.
Great Ocean Blue ran a tour in the Plett bay this morning to watch the dolphins and seals. There were dolphins that came within two metres of the beach, jumping through the waves. Scores of them staying very close to land to avoid the great whites that co-habit the bay with them.It is not easy to catch the dolphins on film, but I did manage to capture the fins in this shot…
The fur seals were stunning, and abundant. They clustered on the rocky shores of a land mass on the north side of the bay that used to be part of the Falklands. This is also where there had been early shipwrecks, and stories abound about the Portugese sailors that built small vessels out of the remains of their ship to return to Cape Town and Mozambique.
7 April, 2005
The Baz Bus travels throughout South Africa, between all of the registered backpacker lodges. My tour of the Garden Tour didn’t come through, so the Aardvark Travel Agency rebooked me on the Baz Bus, and I’m making my way through the garden route with various world travelers in their twenties who are setting out on their journies.
We left Cape Town accompanied by blaring hip hop, followed by an Austin Powers movie. I was truly grateful to get to Oudtshoorn’s Backpacker where I booked their luxury room for R250, including a private bathroom. We awoke early the next morning for a typical South African breakfast of eggs, bacon, tomatoes, toast, cereal, yougart, tea, and coffee. I had a mini-version of the breakfast, and then we set off for the Cango Caves at 8:30.
This was an extraordinary collection of caves and chambers with stalactites and stalagmites that dated back thousands of years. In the first and largest chamber choral and orchestral concerts were held for nearly twenty five years, until the vandalism ended the concert series. The guides would carry 2,000 chairs into the caves for each concert. Now that is a real set-up process, so next time you feel irked at set-up, imagine carry the chairs into a cave, up and down a long series of stairs!
Hylton Ross Cape Point Tour
4 April, 2005
Most people know my penchant for penguins, so the stop at the penguin colony at Simons Town was high on my list…. The penguins were originally called “Jackass Penguins” because their call resembles that of a donkey. Somewhere along the line, someone decided that they should have a more dignified name, and they are now called South African Penguins. They mate for life, and trade off caring for their eggs and young. Many of the penguins were literally panting in the heat as they sat over their unhatched eggs. The area over their eyes becomes increasingly pink as they heat up. Their partner comes to relieve them so they can cool off in the water.
Most of you have probably heard of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and these singers had a similar sound, even singing a tune that is on one of my albums. The choral music is wonderful here, and there are a lot of groups that sing for tips in the tourist areas. It was hard to move on to lunch with this group singing such great music.
Kingklip is a nice solid white fish, often grilled or pan-fried in olive oil and garlic. The calamari was splendid – very delicate. I had the Salade Nicoise and Zenenblanc, but the tuna was a bit overdone. Brandy and Coke is a big drink in these parts, but I can say that it’s not one that I would make a regular part of my diet… We were sated, and lulled into a peaceful sophorific state as we drove on to the Kirstenbosch Gardens.
It is fall here, so we did not see the best that Kirstenbosch has to offer. I would love to come in October some time, which equates to our springtime. The gardens remind me of Golden Gate Park in San
Francisco, however, the backdrop of Devil’s Peak adds a dramatic
touch to the whole scene.
3 April, 2005
It seems that I rehearse every other day, and explore the country on the alternate days. Hence, Sunday meant more meetings with musicians, and more rehearsing. I started off at the Johnson’s home to talk about adding drums and marimba to Cloven Dreams for the UCT student performance that we are planning. We spent a bit of time working out some ideas, and then Ross uncovered two volumes on marimba patterns! What a find…..
I’m cooking up a sister-city concept between musicians in Cape Town and the San Francisco Bay area. This is something that Ross could participate in with his extensive marimba building, teaching, teacher-training projects that can be replicated anywhere in the world.
Study in contrasts
The diversity in South Africa is stunning. Visit the townships one day, and the next to be ensconced in a palatial home in Constancia, followed by a concert given by a Dutch soprano, which segues to a reception in which Afrikaans is the principal language.
2 April, 2005
The township tour was led by Nathi. He is a township resident, and gave an excellent and moving tour of the District 6 museum, District 6, and a few townships near Cape Town. The first photo shows a street map of District 6 that has been signed by the residents – it covers a good part of the first floor of the museum. Residents have contributed photos, street signs, memorabilia, letters, and stories to the museum. Nathi said that the viewpoint they have is to forgive, but not to forget the atrocities of the apartheid government.
In school, the township children are taught in English, but Lhosa is spoken at home, so most children are not bilingual. There are some good programs being created by the township communities. In Langa, there is a new community center where residents are taught trades, and the products such as pottery, sculpture, and musical instruments are sold. The music program at Langa includes piano, guitar, and traditional African music. Henry Lenares showed me the storage room that is filled with African percussion instruments and guitars. Every Saturday, the music teachers work with the children, and they are encouraged to come to the center on weekdays to practice.
1 April, 2005
Hylton Ross offers a wonderful Hop on – Hop off City Tour on the Topless Bus for R90. The weather was splendid yesterday, with little wind, and a lot of sunshine. The tour has 13 stops in all, hightlights included the Waterfront, the South African Museum, Jewish Museum, District 6 Museum, Castle, cableway up to Table Mountain, and Camps Bay. This tour gives you an excellent sense of the Cape Town Region, and helps you narrow down what you want to see in more depth.
District 6 is of particular interest. During apartheid when the government was reapportioning land, they forced all of the Africans and coloreds out of the District 6 area of Cape Town. Many refused to leave, given that their families had lived there for generations. So the government literally dismantled the homes, and forced the occupants out on the streets. Once the area was cleared and burned, the whites were invited to move into the area. However, the government policy had been so brutal towards the previous occupants, that no whites would move into the area. It would have been a passive acceptance of the government policies that were so detested at the time.
31 March, 2005
I’ve been to two African music concerts at UCT – one on Tuesday night, and another on Wednesday afternoon. These were both in Baxter Concert Hall, which boasts a Beckerath organ, and seats 638. The Baxter Theatre Centre was completed in 1976, and is just below the building that houses the South African College of Music.
Dizu Plaatjies is a talented, and well-loved teacher in the African music program. In the two concerts, his students performed on a wide array of instruments, and were complemented by dance and vocals. Instruments included the mtshingo flute, akadinda, kudu horns, marimbas, and more. The mtshingo flute was played by Moeketsi Gibe, who deftly moved from his flute solo to drums in Bandigxohile: They Chase Me. They also had some vocals – Mamaliye: A song dedicated to all the mothers of the earth had Dizu on vocals, and other pieces had up to five vocalists with instrumental backing.
The South African music program has students from all over the world, and in the Wednesday afternoon concert, there were performer-couples from both Sweden and Canada.
I sat in on one of Dizu’s drumming classes on Wednesday, and the techniques were reminiscent of Indian music. The students learn the strokes in conjunction with syllables, and then are able to swap out different patterns to create an improvisational sounding drumming pattern.
The students had write-ups of the vocalization of the patterns, and practiced the interlocking rhythms in sections, building and lengthening the rhythms. Dizu would add new patterns along the way, showing students alternate patterns to add to the mix. Without a steady downbeat the tempo tended to speed up and the rhythmic patterns would loose focus. So Dizu would have one person play the bass tone on the beat to keep it really tight.
Dizu (on the left-hand side of this photo) flows between students during the concert, playing a little rhythm, filling in on marimbas or vocals as needed. He has a very easy way about him, warmth radiating towards everyone in his circle. A part of his joy is that Dizu will go through the traditional wedding ceremony with Nelson Mandela’s grand daughter this fall, making him part of the South African ‘royalty’.
One of the UCT students, Ross Johnson, is now in his third year at UCT, and is the quintessential entrepreneur in his field. He has a double major in jazz on double bass, and African music on marimba, and his classical background is as a guitarist. He has developed a teacher training program for the African schools on marimba, teaching students to become teachers, and transcribing a lot of the South African vocal music for marimba. He has a regular Monday night teacher training session that is open to the public.
His students soon become teachers, and receive good compensation for their work. There are a lot of gigs that pay 200-300 Rands for the students as well.
Greg Anderson (Ross’s dad) has helped Ross to develop the infrastructure for his musical outreach program. This began when Ross was only 15, and getting started as a rock musician. It is as though Ross is single-handedly carrying out the mission of the new South Africa through education, teacher-training, and small business coaching for the African students that he mentors. The juxtaposition and warmth between Ross and his African colleagues on stage is one of the more inspiring experiences that I’ve had since being in South Africa.
30 March, 2005
The self catering flat is a splendid improvement over my previous room. It includes a spacious porch, along with kitchen facilities. Food shopping is easy, with several stores nearby. Pick and Pay is just about two blocks away, and Woolworths is several blocks down, across the street from the www.catwalk.tv internet cafe that I plug into for internet access for 10 Rands an hour.
Woolworths (Uncle Woolie’s) is a ‘Real Foods’ sort of food store – organic produce, free range organic eggs and baby zuch’s are now nestled in the mini-frig.
You can get an idea of the architecture in Sea Point. Lots of apartments, and as a result, one of the most densely populated areas in the Cape Town region.
29 March, 2005
Easter Monday is an official holiday here in Cape Town, and what better way to celebrate than with a new friendship, an Italian film and dinner at Rozenhof… Brad Liebl has been on the UCT faculty for 12 years, and he has been a long-time friend of Florence Aquilino, a talented pianist who served on the UCT faculty for 16 years. She now resides in Santa Rosa, CA, teaches at the San Domenico Conservatory, and is a fellow board member of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.
Rozenhof is located at 18 Kloof Street in Cape Town, and serves a wonderful menu that is both consistent and imaginative. I ordered the Line Fish (Catch of the Day) which had a wonderful sauce of garlic, pepper, and olive oil, accompanied by carrots and gem squash. We enjoyed two Sauvingon Blancs (I need to get the details), and the meal was followed by Chocolate Tournade in a luscious white chocolate sauce with mocha swirls. Five stars….
I began to get a sense of some of the challenges in the music department at the University of Cape Town (UCT). South Africa has had a turbulent history, and the educational system is no exception. One of the largest challenges in this country, is to develop and maintain a good education system for the African children to enable them to lead this country into the future.
This sort of thing can not happen overnight – it will take years, and a tremendous level of dedication. Basic necessities such as healthcare, housing, and nutrition are not available to most Africans in this country. The looming AIDS crisis adds to the obstacles that children face – parents and children face their mortality head-on with this epidemic. Funds for school supplies and books, and a stable home environment for children go hand-in-hand with improving educational opportunities.
There is a tremendous pool of African singers who have joined the vocal department at UCT. Singing is a part of everyday life in the African culture, and this natural predilection paired with ‘top-notch vocal chords’ has been producing some wonderful opera singers at UCT. One of the challenges is to inculcate the students with the step-by-step practice techniques and study habits that were not ingrained in their early education. This adds a unique dimension to the role that the faculty at UCT must play in the lives of these young musicians.
One African American woman has been coming to UCT for several years and recruiting these singers for further training in the United States. She has had some wonderful success in bringing these singers to the next level in their careers. Last year, she returned to South Africa with a full production of Porgy and Bess – all of the vocal parts were performed by singers who had graduated from UCT, and gone to the States for further studies.
29 March, 2005
Easter Monday is an official holiday here in Cape Town, and what better way to celebrate than with a new friendship, an Italian film and dinner at Rozenhof… Brad Liebl has been on the UCT faculty for 12 years, and he has been a long-time friend of Florence Aquilino, a talented pianist who served on the UCT faculty for 16 years. She now resides in Santa Rosa, CA, teaches at the San Domenico Conservatory, and is a fellow board member of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.
Rozenhof is located at 18 Kloof Street in Cape Town, and serves a wonderful menu that is both consistent and imaginative. I ordered the Line Fish (Catch of the Day) which had a wonderful sauce of garlic, pepper, and olive oil, accompanied by carrots and gem squash. We enjoyed two Sauvingon Blancs (I need to get the details), and the meal was followed by Chocolate Tournade in a luscious white chocolate sauce with mocha swirls. Five stars….
I began to get a sense of some of the challenges in the music department at the University of Cape Town (UCT). South Africa has had a turbulent history, and the educational system is no exception. One of the largest challenges in this country, is to develop and maintain a good education system for the African children to enable them to lead this country into the future.
This sort of thing can not happen overnight – it will take years, and a tremendous level of dedication. Basic necessities such as healthcare, housing, and nutrition are not available to most Africans in this country. The looming AIDS crisis adds to the obstacles that children face – parents and children face their mortality head-on with this epidemic. Funds for school supplies and books, and a stable home environment for children go hand-in-hand with improving educational opportunities.
There is a tremendous pool of African singers who have joined the vocal department at UCT. Singing is a part of everyday life in the African culture, and this natural predilection paired with ‘top-notch vocal chords’ has been producing some wonderful opera singers at UCT. One of the challenges is to inculcate the students with the step-by-step practice techniques and study habits that were not ingrained in their early education. This adds a unique dimension to the role that the faculty at UCT must play in the lives of these young musicians.
One African American woman has been coming to UCT for several years and recruiting these singers for further training in the United States. She has had some wonderful success in bringing these singers to the next level in their careers. Last year, she returned to South Africa with a full production of Porgy and Bess – all of the vocal parts were performed by singers who had graduated from UCT, and gone to the States for further studies.