Keiskamma
Music Academy wrapped up 2012 with a bang!
We
were joined for our ten day Christmas workshop by a host of international
visitors. Ellen Marie Prag from Norway worked with our violin students on their
technique and musicianship. Paulus van
der Merwe, a South African who connects us to Hamburg, Germany through his work
as principal oboist for the NDR symphony, visited Hamburg South Africa again to
continue the relationships he has established with our ensembles and to provide
intense solo coaching for several senior students.
We
were also delighted to spend two days with the team from Opera for Change, a group from the
United Kingdom that has been travelling from Nairobi to Cape Town on a pilot
project with the goal of introducing the world of opera to communities across
Africa. This initiative is providing
local children with the opportunity to express themselves while interacting
with the various components of opera: music, movement, and theatre.
In
preparation for this workshop we learned about Mozart’s Magic Flute, an opera that contains all the elements for a classic
opera hit: love, hate, revenge, and an angry mother. We even learned to play some music from the
opera on our recorders.
Photo: Jen Hoyer
Andy
Staples of Opera for Change led us in creating our own opera about a
fantastical world filled with dragons, unicorns and magicians. He also brought a portable recording studio
that allowed students to interact with recording technology and try their hand
at recording their own music. A video of
our two days with Opera for Change highlights some of these fun activities.
Video link: https://vimeo.com/56175718#at=0
Our
workshop wrapped up with the annual Hamburg Christmas Concert. For our Bodiam music students who joined us
during the workshop, this was the first opportunity to perform. Everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the
holidays with Christmas music and opera melodies!
