Classical music lovers are in for a treat during April with the announcement that The Alma Chamber Orchestra will be performing for the first time in South Africa as part of their world tour.
The ‘World Tour for Unity’ is presented by The Ichikowitz Family Foundation and the Alma Nostra Foundation in Paris, and will include a series of concerts featuring the acclaimed fifty-eight member Alma Chamber Orchestra. Led by concertmaster and artistic director, Anne Gravoin, with the famous Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, under the direction of Lionel Bringuier, the programme will include works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Wael Binali.
Ivor Ichikowitz, founder of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and sponsor of the South African tour, said ” We all strive for a more peaceful, tolerant and prosperous world, and through the medium of world-class music, our respective Foundations are bringing this message to South Africa on the eve of the twenty-first anniversary of our country’s peaceful democratic transition. We are greatly privileged to share with South Africans the chance to listen to such an accomplished orchestra.”
The Alma Chamber Orchestra’s tour to South Africa, in the spirit of unity, will also launch the European Union’s Europefest 2015 programme. All the European Embassies have gathered their cultural events together during the month of May under one umbrella to form the EuropeFest 2015. Their vision is to celebrate cultural diversity.
South African audiences can look forward to three performances in Johannesburg, Durban and Soweto from 22 to 25 April 2015.
The ‘World Tour for Unity’ will commence in Johannesburg with the opening concert at the Linder Auditorium on Wednesday 22 April at 19h30. The ever-popular Egmont Overture and Piano Concerto No 4 by Beethoven, and Felix Mendelssohn’s colourful Symphony No 4 will make up the programme.
Audiences in Durban can look forward to collaboration with South Africa’s leading orchestra, the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Alma Chamber Orchestra for an unprecedented experience. The concert will take place on Thursday 23 April at 19h30 at the home of the KZNPO, Durban’s City Hall and will include the following works: Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and Concerto No 4, Symphony No 4 by Mendelssohn and Earth by Wael Binali.
Members of The Alma Chamber Orchestra will host master classes in Durban and Umlazi on Friday 24 April to facilitate collaborative education, signifying unity through music.
“I am delighted that The Alma Chamber Orchestra will be collaborating with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra on a rare and exceptional tour. I am particularly pleased that The Alma Chamber Orchestra will, in addition to presenting symphony concerts in Johannesburg and Durban, undertake music development initiatives in Umlazi Township and Soweto,” said Bongani Tembe, Artistic Director of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra and Commissioner-General of the France-South Africa Seasons 2012 and 2013.
For the final concert of the ‘World Tour for Unity’, The Alma Chamber Orchestra will share the stage with the internationally-renowned, Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto on Saturday 25 April at 15h00. Audiences will be treated to a gratis concert.
Zouhir Boudemagh, the President of the Alma Nostra Foundation notes, “We are delighted to be in South Africa to join in the celebrations of 21 years of Democracy. We’ve just returned from touring North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) and this will be a glorious celebration of cultural unity and affirmation of universal humanitarian values.”
All tickets, except for the concert at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto (which is free) will be available from Computicket from 30 March 2015 on www.computicket.com
For more information visit www.ichikowitzfoundation.com.
Note to Editors:
The Ichikowitz Family Foundation:
Ivor Ichikowitz, well known as an industrialist and philanthropist with a passion for Africa founded the Ichikowitz Family Foundation in 2010. The Foundation carries forward a long tradition of innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement. It is this background that drives the commitment of the Foundation to develop (young) people through educational, environmental and cultural activities. Its philanthropic work is based on intelligent giving, innovation and capacity building. The Foundation is a member of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) who is also a supporter of the ‘World Tour of Unity’. For more information, visit www.ichikowitzfoundation.com.
The Alma Chamber Orchestra:
The Alma Chamber Orchestra was created in May 2013 by the Alma Nostra Foundation and its president, Zouhir Boudemagh. The artistic direction of the Alma Chamber Orchestra is shared between the baton of renowned conductors and the bow of its solo violinist, Mme Anne Gravoin. The orchestra is composed of 58 musicians from some of France’s top symphonic orchestras and instrumentalists pursuing careers all over the world. It is dedicated to performing worldwide in order to support music by presenting innovative and international programmes. It also promotes humanitarian values through music. This universal message promotes music to each and every culture and every generation. For more information visit www.almachamberorchestra.com.
Anne Gravoin
Anne Gravoin is joint founder, lead soloist and artistic director of the Alma Chamber Orchestra. She has a string of awards to her name and for over 25 years, artists, directors, composers and producers have been trusting Mme Gravoin to select musicians from all genres and spheres for sessions and live performances from acclaimed symphony orchestras to chamber music ensembles. Mme Gravoin studied at the Paris Conservatoire where her teachers included Gérard Poulet, Dominique Hoppenot, and Myriam Solovieff. In 2000, Mme Gravoin established “Régie Orchestre” (RO), one of the three largest organisations of its kind in the Paris region, which works with musicians, mostly on short-term contracts, to provide and coordinate both domestic and international orchestral support and collaborations, providing employment for more than 400 musicians annually. Mme Gravoin is a long-standing member of the Menuhin Foundation (since 1986) and in 2007, she founded the string quartet, the Travelling Quartet. For more information visit www.almachamberorchestra.com.
Lionel Bringuier
Lionel Bringuier (French) is the guest conductor of the Alma Chamber Orchestra. His artistic maturity and interpretative depth have made him a mainstay with the world’s foremost orchestras and led to his being named Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich in 2012 at age 26. Now serving in his inaugural season at the Tonhalle, his artistic vision and energy — both on and off the podium — are helping to usher the orchestra into a new era. Since first coming to attention worldwide in 2005 when he was unanimously awarded first prize and the Prix du Public at the 49th Besancon Young Conductors Competition, Bringuier has appeared as a guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
For more information, visit www.lionelbringuier.com
Nelson Freire
Nelson Freire was born in 1944 in Brazil and celebrated his 70 birthday last this year. He started playing at the age of three and replayed pieces by memory that his older sister had just performed. For his first public recital at the age of 4, he chose Mozart’s Sonata in A Major K 133. In 1957 at the age of 12, Freire performed Beethoven’s Concerto No 5. He subsequently received a Brazilian government grant to study in Vienna with Bruno Seidhofer. By 1964 he had won first prize at the Vianna da Motta International Music Competition in Lisbon. Freire has recorded for Sony/CBS, Teldec, Philips, Decca and Deutsche Grammophon. He has recorded Liszt’s piano concertos with the Dresden Philharmonic under Michel Plasson for Berlin Classics. Freire has recorded commercially with Martha Argerich, whom he shares a long-time musical collaboration and friendship. His Decca recordings include a 2-CD set of the Brahms piano concertos with the Gewandhuas Orchstra which won the 2007 Classic FM and Gramophone awards in the Record of the Year and Concerto categories.
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra:
The KZN Philharmonic is recognised as the premiere orchestra in South Africa. It has a compliment of about 70 full-time musicians who come from 20 different countries. It has over the past 30 years earned the reputation for innovation and excellence throughout South African audiences. The Orchestra has been ably led by Bongani Tembe, a graduate of the Julliard School who joined the orchestra in 1994 at the turn of South Africa’s democracy. He is Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director. Each year, the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra produces three symphony seasons and has one of the most successful community-centred programmes allowing school children from all backgrounds to be exposed to classical music. For more information, visit www.kznphil.org.za
The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble:
In the eighteen years of its existence, the Buskaid Music School has produced a string ensemble with a formidable reputation for high standards of performance and a sophisticated grasp of musical style. As a result, it has become widely sought-after for a variety of functions and events, many of which are of an extremely prestigious nature. These include appearances with a number of international artists such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Steven Isserlis and Bernarda Fink, several performances in the presence of former Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, as well as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of York, HRH the Earl of Wessex and the First Lady of the United States of America, Mrs Michelle Obama. To date, the young musicians have, through such events, generated well over R3 million for the Buskaid Trust. For more information, visit www.buskaid.org.za
Author: Gilly Hemphill from The Famous Idea.
More Info link: http://ichikowitzfoundation.com/
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The Alma Chamber Orchestra featuring Anne Govain Photo:
Nelson Freire Photo:
Lionel Bringuier Photo:
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