The 2022 Jazz & Classical Encounters Festival Vol. 4 at Spier Amphitheatre, featuring some of the best South African jazz and classical artists in a new showcase of local contemporary music, takes place on Saturday, 26 November 2022.
The one-day festival at Spier Wine Farm Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch begins at 12.30pm (doors open at 11.30am) and will conquer your senses with a mix of jazz and classical music for the following eight hours. The 4th edition of this must-see event will once again feature some of South Africa’s most exciting jazz and classical performers. With the covid-19 pandemic behind us, we can’t wait to enjoy this year’s incredible lineup live in this splendid location and celebrate our country’s top music talents.
The show will open with multiple SAMA (SA Music Awards) nominees, including the winner of the 2022 Mzantsi Jazz Awards for the Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Durban-based pianist Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane and his sextet, who will present works from his latest album “Music From My People.” The album is a project with a holistic approach that echoes many rhythmic languages, multi-generational sounds, and an exploration of self-identity. Family, community, country, the African continent, and global influences are all woven into the album’s sound. The jazz genre is interpreted through its many phases and decades, each of which carries with it insightful experiences linked to specific eras. The sextet features Nick Ford on bass, Bonolo Nkoane on drums, Buddy Wells on saxophone, Muneeb Hermans on trumpet and Wandithanda Makandula on vocals.
They will be followed by the formidable Kirby Ensemble, revisiting Beethoven and Schumann. The Kirby Ensemble was formed out of previous winners and current competitors in the 2022 Schock Chamber Music Competition. All five have enjoyed considerable success in competitions and undertaken professional work of an extremely high calibre, given their relative youth. The members of the ensemble are: Nic Bruiners on violin 1, Kaitlin Downie on violin 2, Micaela Arries on viola, Ashlin Grobbelaar on cello and Gerhard Joubert on piano.
Following Kirby Ensemble on stage is, without a doubt, one of the most influential drummers on South Africa’s jazz scene, Ayanda Sikade. Ayanda, who hails from East London, will present his latest project and album, “Umakhulu,” a magnificent piece of music dedicated to his grandmother that pays homage to his heritage. He will be accompanied by none other than Bra Andile Yenana on piano, the highly sought-after bassist Nhlanhla Radebe and rising alto saxophone sensation Kagiso Ramela.
The next act is the amazing young talent, Khanyisile Mthetwa, a multiple award-winning flute player who was named “Top Young South African” by the Mail and Guardian and is one of the leading virtuoso instrumentalists in Africa and throughout the world. She has been nominated in three categories in the 2022 SAMA awards for her debut album, “African Bird,” and won in the category for Best Classical Instrumental Album and Newcomer. Ms Mthetwa currently holds a Licentiate and Fellowship in Flute Performance from the Trinity College of London and is the principal flautist for the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. She is accompanied on piano by the incomparable Peter Cartwright.
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The festival will also have one of SA’s inspiring veterans, legendary bassist Herbie Tsoaeli, to close this incredible line-up. “If you have been listening to South African creative music in the past 25 years, you have probably been grooving and swinging to the bass of Tsoaeli. His sound carries history and memory. Adroit, uncompromising, yet always soulful –Tsoaeli’s voice as a bass player is alive in the South African Songbook,” says Steve Kwena Mokwena. His unique sound and improvising style will captivate the final set. He will be presenting his latest album “At This Point in Time,” and will be accompanied on stage by Keegan Steenkamp on trumpet and flugelhorn, Steven Sokuyeka on trombone, Mziwakhe Cekiso on piano and Tefo Mahola on drums and percussion. What a way to end this superb line-up.
“#jazzandclassicalencounters,” says 2022 Jazz & Classical Encounters Festival organiser and co-producer Aymeric Péguillan of Pegs Music Project: “So grateful and excited to be hosting again that festival at Spier in such a grand setting. We have managed to gather enough resources to bring Volume 4 of the festival to follow up on the past three, and we can’t wait to reconnect with that beautiful and loyal audience of ours. Some magnificent SA artists have responded favourably and with lots of excitement to our invitation to perform at the festival again this year, and we are very proud to present a superb line-up of great South African musical talents making waves in and beyond the borders of the country. We have no doubt that audience members will be equally excited to discover (or rediscover) them and the compositions they have prepared for us.”
Péguillan, co-producer with Akhi Kahn’s Penny Lane Studios, adds: “The journey continues and we keep working at presenting the best of two musical art forms that uniquely inform our South African identity.”
The spectacular amphitheatre at Spier provides once again the ideal venue for the showcase, with several outlets for a picnic and casual dining.
Proudly presented in collaboration with Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos and Fazioli.
A variety of food and beverages will be available on-site during the entire event. No cash transactions. Cards and SnapScan only.
The schedule:
- Doors open at 11:30
- 1st Act – 12.30 pm (Sibusiso Mashiloane Sextet)
- 1st Break – 1.30 pm (for 45 minutes)
- 2nd Act – 2.15pm (The Kirby Ensemble)
- 2nd Break – 3.15 pm (for 45 minutes)
- 3rd Act – 4 to 5 pm (Ayanda Sikade Quartet)
- 3rd Break – 5pm (for 45 minutes)
- 4th Act – 5.45pm (Khanyisile Mthetwa and Peter Cartwright)
- 4th Break – 6.45pm (for 45 minutes)
- 5th Act – 7.30pm (Herbie Tsoaeli Quintet)
- Event Ends: 8.30pm
Location: Spier Wine Farm r310 Baden Powell Dr, Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch
Tickets available from Quicket:
- Festival Shows Full Day Single Ticket only
- R 595
- Festival Shows Full Day for 2 with Picnic Basket for 2
- R 1,890
- The festival Shows Full Day for 2 with Picnic Basket for 2 and a Double Signature Garden Terrace Room at Spier Hotel One Night
- R 5,550
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Picture: Supplied