The Bochabela String Orchestra in Bloemfontein, which is an initiative of the Free State Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR), is playing all their strings right ahead of a concert in Austria early next year, where they will perform a tribute to the late South African and global icon, Nelson Mandela.
Professional accountant and co-trustee of the Mangaung Strings, Kobus Spies, says the orchestra will perform a piece named Nelson, which will celebrate Mandela as a freedom fighter and show the group’s pride that he was one of the founding fathers of the South African democratic system.
“The piece will be performed as part of next year’s centenary celebrations, which mark 100 years since Mandela’s birth,” Spies says.
The founder of the Bochabela String Orchestra and programme director in the SACR’s Visual and Performing Arts department, Peter Guy, says the group will be leaving in January next year for a three and a half-week trip to Europe, focusing mostly on Austrian cities and towns.
“It is a thrilling experience for the students as well because in addition to being given a travelling opportunity, they are also given exposure to what is out there and are able to see how South African voices and talent is appreciated in other countries,” he says.
Guy says apart from providing students, who predominately come from underprivileged backgrounds, the opportunity to showcase their talent, he also particularly appreciates how perceptions on music as a career are changing gradually among parents of learners who otherwise would encourage their children to pursue academic fields, such as accounting or law
He also adds that when performing overseas, seeing black children in an orchestra is also a surprise for European audiences, who are used to mostly whites in the orchestra.
“ We have over 700 children in this project from various parts of the Free State and some of them are so good and they go on to do incredibly well. I have had one parent come up to me and say she was pleasantly surprised because she always thought the kind of music the orchestra plays, was only for white people. So I am glad that through our music and students, we’re changing the way the world sees people and music. I hope we’re changing stereotypes, if nothing else,” Guy says.
