Unisa hosts the 1st Unisa Southern African Wind Instrument competition

Southern African Wind Instrument competition

Unisa recorded another milestone in its history books when the 1st Unisa Southern African Wind Instrument competition began on 27 June at the Miriam Makeba Concert Hall. Competing for more than R200 000 are 13 young musicians whose musical abilities and stamina will be tested in four gruelling rounds over nine days

Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor Prof Mandla Makhanya officially opened the competition, saying it continued a tradition that began at Unisa 30 years previously, “a tradition of holding music competitions that would bring together both budding and accomplished musicians, to test and hone their abilities and skills against their peers, locally, and, ultimately, internationally”.

“Our competitions have never disappointed us in the quality and calibre of the contestants, the competition and the organisation, and so we can all look forward with anticipation and excitement to a time of unadulterated edification,” he added.

As Unisa’s very first wind competition in its 30 years of hosting competitions, the Vice-Chancellor said it is also possibly the only national wind competition in the country and “we are proud that Unisa is once again leading the way forward”. “The competition was deliberately opened to candidates from South Africa and our neighbouring countries in an effort to build stronger ties with our neighbours and to encourage them to participate. We look forward with interest to the meld of sounds and the variety in pulses that this will produce.”

Prof Makhanya also highlighted the calibre of the jurists. “Our jury panel was very carefully selected from the wealth of incredible performers and educators across the country, and we are justifiably proud to have some of our country’s finest performers and educators serving on the jury.”

The shadow jury, he said, is another concept unique to Unisa, and is now a standard feature on our competitions. “It is comprised of students and tutors from our Community Music Engagement programme.”

He said the Unisa Music Foundation was one of this university’s success stories as it had consistently performed in a manner that had not only brought honour to the university and country, but, with that honour, a reputation as a music centre of international standing and excellence.

The Deputy Director: Music Foundation, Dr Karéndra Devroop, also emphasised the university’s excitement about the competition, saying it was only apt to host Unisa’s first national wind instrument competition in the year the university celebrated 140 years of shaping futures in Africa. “Music at Unisa enjoys unwavering support from management and staff, and the Music Foundation is very proud to contribute to the strategic vision and mission of the university.”

The first and second rounds of the competition took place from 27 June to 29 June. The third round, on 2 and 3 July, will consist of a morning session at 10:00 and an afternoon session at 14:00. At this stage all semi-finalists will be required to perform a full one-hour recital.

The final round comprises four finalists who will perform a concerto with an orchestra on Saturday, 6 July. The Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, under the baton of Brandon Phillips, will perform with the finalists.

The contestants are Justin Carter (clarinet), Cobus du Toit (flute), Renée Hartzenberg (flute), Lerienne Joubert (flute), Marli Labuschagne (flute), Visser Liebenberg (clarinet), Matthew Lombard (saxophone), Luke Newby (clarinet), André Oosthuizen (flute), Myles Roberts (flute), Louisa Theart (flute), Jaco van Staden (French horn), and Braam van Tonder (trumpet).

All rounds are open to the public. Tickets for the first three rounds are sold at the door and cost only R25 and R30 per session. The final round will take place in the ZK Matthews Great Hall and tickets are available through Computicket.