US Music

Whilst music festivals, theatres, educational facilities and entertainment venues cautiously plan ahead in the wake of the single most disastrous year for the performing arts ever, the SICMF sends out a clear and positive message: The 17^th SICMF will take place from 26 July to 4 August and now invites student participants to enrol.

Festival Director, Peter Martens, says, “With due reverence for those who have passed or suffered hardship, we cannot let this pandemic define or defeat us. Music making and music education will be an integral part of the healing process, firstly as we play a meaningful role in inspiring and uplifting those who have carried us through the dark and silent months, and then (as community interaction and celebrations of human life slowly become the norm again), we empower people through music performance and music education in establishing music as an embracing facilitator of social cohesion in the new normal.”

Whilst planning for both best and worst case scenarios, the management of the SICMF undertakes to refund entry fees of student participants, should Covid-19 cause the 2021 SICMF to be cancelled. However, with faith in the tenacity of the human race and in particular the marvels of modern medicine, the SICMF looks to present a fantastic array of internationally acclaimed artists and music.

Keep an eye on our website www.sicmf.co.za for details of artists, programmes, Computicket sales (these should open on or around 1 June) and the online participant entry form, now open for students.

Despite Covid-19 rudely silencing our concert halls and music festivals, individuals and music organisations around the world have been trying to keep the magic of live performance flourishing through live-streaming. However, a major part of the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival is its focus on education. In addition to performances, master classes and coaching sessions, each year the generosity of local and international donors results in some special awards being made to SICMF students.

On August 16 this year a call was made for cello students of the SICMF to submit letters of motivation for a very special award – a valuable cello and bow donated by Mrs Gila Marshall who fondly recalls the instrument as her father’s. She brought it back from Vienna after he passed away and it remains a wonderful memory of his love for the cello and music making with him.  She has expressed her thanks to local cellists, Graham du Plessis and Peter Martens (the latter also in his capacity as SICMF Director) in realising the revival of the cello, saying that after all these years she felt it was time to have this instrument played again. It is her express wish that the award be called the “Viennese Cello Award”.

Fourteen heartfelt letters from talented young South African cellists were received and together with her husband Chris, Gila Marshall has decided to award the cello to Nastassja Pretorius. Nastassja is currently studying towards an Honours degree in cello performance at the University of Stellenbosch. She hails from Ruyterwacht and dreams of one day joining a professional symphony orchestra.

The management of the SICMF would like to express sincerest thanks to Chris and Gila Marshall for this compassionate gesture, congratulations to Nastassja Pretorius, and a special thank you to its long-time sponsor in kind, Pirastro, for the new set of hand-crafted Edition cello strings.

I first met “Eric” (as we all called him) in 1980, when I started taking lessons with him and playing in his Stellenbosch String Orchestra (for 10 unforgettable years). I was one of the participants when he established the USSO in 1981, and also saw him in action as brilliant Principal Viola in the then CAPAB orchestra during the years that I played there.

Eric was the best possible teacher that I could have had after my school years with Jack de Wet. From Jack de Wet, I received a wonderful technical grounding. Eric taught me about musicality, phrasing, playing true to the style of a work. I did 3 Licentiates and studied under him for 8 years – I simply couldn’t stop. Not one moment of my lessons was empty.

When I had to follow him up as conductor of the USSO after his serious accident, I was filled with trepidation at the thought that I now had to carry his mantle: the number and variety of works that he had done with over the years with the USSO is truly staggering. No undertaking was too daunting for him: I, for one, would never do the Gounod Mass with my choir, because the orchestra requires 6 (!) harps. Eric did the Gounod – with 6 harps on stage.

It is solely thanks to him that I have a thorough knowledge of works for string orchestra. There is almost no work for string orchestra, from the Baroque to the end of the 20th century, that he did not do with us, and sometimes also performed overseas. He is also the one that opened up countless opportunities for me to play in various groups and orchestras in Cape Town and elsewhere.

Occasionally, he could drive one round the bend when he was “on a mission” – but I always understood it as the product of his boundless enthusiasm and passion. –His key holder had the inscription “Certified crazy person”, which I always thought was very funny and very apt. He was crazy and unstoppable when he had a new project at hand. At the annual National Orchestra Course, his orchestra used to be the most popular one, both for the appealing works that he always selected, but also for the person that he was with the young people.

He was an exceptionally kind, generous, warm-hearted and spontaneous person. He was genuine and had a kind heart. In my mind’s eye I see him before me, smiling and gesturing, enthusiastically telling me about his newest project. This is how I shall remember him.

Louis van der Watt

The Certificate Programme (CP) in Music Literacy at Stellenbosch University (SU) has received funding to ensure completion of the academic year despite the national lockdown.

According to Pamela Kierman, senior lecturer at SU’s music department, the funding will ensure great success for their students. “The fun​​ds will be used to purchase laptops as most of our students are unable to afford their own. We, as the music department, have also purchased data for students in preparing for virtual learning.”

Kierman says it is a dream come true for their funding application to be accepted as it will allow the programme to continue without disruption. “At the CP, we believe in ‘access to all’ because a large number of our students are adults who had already given up on life. This funding will help us in helping them realise their dreams of studying music.”

Programme coordinator and senior music lecturer Felicia Lesch adds that they are in the process of ordering the laptops and tablets, which will remain the property of the CP but will be available to the students for use. “This is applicable to students on all campuses – the Stellenbosch campus, the military students and those at the Musiquelaine Project at Steenberg High School in Cape Town. Without access to laptops, teaching is not accessible to all,” says Lesch.

“The CP is an opportunity for students to upgrade their practical and theoretical skills so that they can proceed to tertiary music studies. We want them to have the same access to their studies as other students on campus.

“While some of our students have access to the internet, many do not, and to allow them to continue with their lectures, we requested funding for laptops and were fortunate enough to be part of the group that received the R129 800 funding from the University,” says Lesch.

Established in 1999, the Certificate Programme has been offering free music training to aspiring community musicians. According to Lesch, the programme is one of the largest recruitment pools at SU’s music department.

She says the one-year part-time programme is a great opportunity for community musicians to enhance their music literacy skills. Lesch says the programme selects 20- 30 students yearly.

“Many of our students have gone on to achieve great success in their respective musical careers. We have also collaborated with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in training military bandsmen.”

The Certificate Programme has given birth to various community music organisations. Projects including the Liron School of Arts, Athlone Academy of Music (AAM), Overberg Koperblaasontwikkelingsprojek (OKOSI), West Coast Music Academy (WCMA), Musiquelaine SA Initiative: Steenberg High School Wind Band Project, Ronnie Samaai Music Education Project (RSMEP), Mitchells Plain Academy of Music and Arts (MPAMA) and many others who seek to transform communities through music.

For more information on the Certificate Programme, click here. ​

For several decades, Marian Lewin (she retained her maiden name as her stage name after marrying Harold Kimmel in 1965) has been regarded as the doyenne of South African cellists. She obtained her University of South Africa Performers Licentiate in 1963, and in 1969, attended the International Cello Week in Holland where she appeared on Eurovision and was judged best cellist.

She had a very successful career as orchestral cellist, chamber musician and soloist with amongst others, the SABC, the Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) Philharmonic and PACT Symphony orchestras. She also taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Pro-Arte School in Pretoria and at the University of Cape Town.

She was the cellist for the Alma Musica Piano Trio for 34 years and subsequently joined the Rosamunde and Schwietering String Quartets, I Grandi Violoncellisti and the Hermanay Flute Trio. Her music making extended extensively beyond the groups in which she was a permanent member and was for many years, South Africa’s most sought after cello chamber music partner.

Marian’s love for her fellow human beings and her music was as genuine as it was generous. She was loved by all who were touched by her kindness and most beautiful playing. South Africa has lost a great artist whose humility is encapsulated in her final request – she wanted no funeral nor tombstone, but would instead like those with the means to do so, to make a donation to their favourite charity.

She passed away without prolonged suffering just a few days after having been admitted to a care facility close to her home in Sea Point, Cape Town. She leaves behind her beloved husband, Harold, and three sons, Bryan, Warren and Gary.

Written by Dr Peter Martens