South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation
Encyclopedia
The South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation (SANYOF) is a non-profit organisation in the music education
and development sector. The Foundation supports the training and development of South Africa’s
young musicians through national courses, national and international tours and workshops, and networks nationally and internationally; and assisting regional youth orchestra
programmes countrywide. It organises annual youth orchestra
courses, where the South African National Youth Orchestras are formed. This has included the South African National Youth Orchestra, South African National Concert Orchestra, the South African National Wind Orchestra and the South African National String Orchestra. Members of these orchestras are aged between 13 and 25.
has been a sponsor since 1979. The Foundation is also supported by De Beers
, Rupert
Musiekstigting, Adcock-Ingram, South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), Primedia (1998 tour), AECI, and Business & Arts South Africa over a number of years. SANYOF is run primarily by volunteers. The Foundation is a cooperating member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras
(EFNYO).
, Durban
, Cape Town
, Johannesburg
, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria
and Stellenbosch. Repertoire includes a wide variety of works by romantic
, 20th century and contemporary composers, with an emphasis on performing works by South African composers. This course has also been known as an opportunity to participate in chamber music
, socialise and establish friendship. A highlight of the course is the annual soccer match.
The Foundation has hosted three separate courses in 2010. This was a break from the tradition of a single winter course, and included a course specifically for string instruments, and a course for winds, brass and percussion, as well as the annual Sasol National Youth Orchestra Course for symphony orchestras. 2010 was the first time that the National Youth Orchestra (strings) performed at the National Arts Festival
in Grahamstown
.
in 1964, with 87 participants, organised by the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT). The early pioneers included Korie Koornhof, Arthur Wegelin, Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg and Diane Heller together with the first conductor, Leo Quayle.
The seeds those early pioneers sowed quickly took root and in 1975 the SA National Youth Orchestra took part in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aberdeen
, followed by a short tour of Europe three years later. In 1979, Sasol came on board as a founding partner of the National Youth Orchestra Foundation to provide infrastructure and organisational skills. Sasol remains a committed partner to this day, providing sponsorship for the annual youth orchestra course and its development initiatives.
The SA NYO Foundation holds courses around the country with tutelage by top local and international teachers and conductors.
Under the management of Dorothy van de Geest and with the help of her husband, Professor Gerard van de Geest, the South African National Youth Orchestra reached unprecedented levels, performing in Scotland
, in Europe
and in Red Square
in Moscow
. Dorothy died in 2004.
In 2006, the SA NYO took part in the Beethoven festival in Bonn
performing a programme of South African works in addition to Beethoven's symphony no. 5.
John Arnold (United Kingdom)
Anton Hartman (South Africa)
Avi Ostrowsky
(Israel)
Alberto Bolet (USA)
Alois Hochstraser (Austria)
Ali (Alexander) Rahbari
(Austria)
Howard Griffiths
(Switzerland)
John Hopkins
(Australia)
Reinhard Schwarz (Austria)
Bernhard Gueller (Germany)
Gérard Korsten (South Africa)
Viktor Yampolsky (USA)
Omri Hadari (Israel)
Robert Maxym (Germany)
Hikotaro Yazaki (Japan)
Conrad van Alphen (South Africa)
Stefan Solyom (Sweden)
Fredrik Burstedt (Sweden)
Ewa Strusińska
(Poland)
Gerben Grooten (Netherlands)
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
and development sector. The Foundation supports the training and development of South Africa’s
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
young musicians through national courses, national and international tours and workshops, and networks nationally and internationally; and assisting regional youth orchestra
Youth orchestra
Youth orchestra may refer to:-Australia:*Adelaide Youth Orchestra*Melbourne String Ensemble*Queensland Youth Orchestras*SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra*Sydney Youth Orchestra...
programmes countrywide. It organises annual youth orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
courses, where the South African National Youth Orchestras are formed. This has included the South African National Youth Orchestra, South African National Concert Orchestra, the South African National Wind Orchestra and the South African National String Orchestra. Members of these orchestras are aged between 13 and 25.
The Foundation
The Foundation is supported entirely through private funding. SasolSasol
Sasol Ltd. is a South African company involved in mining, energy, chemicals and synfuels. In particular, they produce petrol and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch process...
has been a sponsor since 1979. The Foundation is also supported by De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
, Rupert
Anton Rupert
Dr. Anthony Edward Rupert was an Afrikaner South African billionaire entrepreneur, businessman and conservationist. He was born and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. He studied in Pretoria and ultimately moved to Stellenbosch, where he established the Rembrandt Group ...
Musiekstigting, Adcock-Ingram, South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), Primedia (1998 tour), AECI, and Business & Arts South Africa over a number of years. SANYOF is run primarily by volunteers. The Foundation is a cooperating member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras
European Federation of National Youth Orchestras
The European Federation of National Youth Orchestras is an association of European national youth orchestras on pre-professional level. The federation was founded in 1994 and has 17 national members, 8 international members and 7 cooperating members. The aim of the EFNYO is to promote cooperation...
(EFNYO).
Courses
The orchestra course is held every year during the winter school holidays, in a different city in South Africa. Courses have been presented in BloemfonteinBloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and Stellenbosch. Repertoire includes a wide variety of works by romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, 20th century and contemporary composers, with an emphasis on performing works by South African composers. This course has also been known as an opportunity to participate in chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, socialise and establish friendship. A highlight of the course is the annual soccer match.
The Foundation has hosted three separate courses in 2010. This was a break from the tradition of a single winter course, and included a course specifically for string instruments, and a course for winds, brass and percussion, as well as the annual Sasol National Youth Orchestra Course for symphony orchestras. 2010 was the first time that the National Youth Orchestra (strings) performed at the National Arts Festival
National Arts Festival
The National Arts Festival is one of the most important events on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent....
in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
.
History
The course first started as a holiday music camp at Hartbeespoort DamHartbeespoort Dam
Hartbeespoort Dam also known as Harties is a dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa . It lies in a valley to the south of the Magaliesberg mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 kilometres west of Pretoria...
in 1964, with 87 participants, organised by the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT). The early pioneers included Korie Koornhof, Arthur Wegelin, Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg and Diane Heller together with the first conductor, Leo Quayle.
The seeds those early pioneers sowed quickly took root and in 1975 the SA National Youth Orchestra took part in the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, followed by a short tour of Europe three years later. In 1979, Sasol came on board as a founding partner of the National Youth Orchestra Foundation to provide infrastructure and organisational skills. Sasol remains a committed partner to this day, providing sponsorship for the annual youth orchestra course and its development initiatives.
The SA NYO Foundation holds courses around the country with tutelage by top local and international teachers and conductors.
Under the management of Dorothy van de Geest and with the help of her husband, Professor Gerard van de Geest, the South African National Youth Orchestra reached unprecedented levels, performing in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and in Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Dorothy died in 2004.
In 2006, the SA NYO took part in the Beethoven festival in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
performing a programme of South African works in addition to Beethoven's symphony no. 5.
Highlights
- 1974 Orchestra course held in Durban with 260 participants. Two participants (Piet Koornhof - violin, and Human Coetzee - Cello) invited to Interlochen, MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
to play in the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra. EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
produces a record of the course.
- 1975 The NYO participates in the Aberdeen International Youth FestivalAberdeen International Youth FestivalAberdeen International Youth Festival is a leading Festival of Youth Arts, and one of Scotland's major international cultural events.Every year Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts over 1000 of the most talented young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the...
in Scotland and tours EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They form part of a mass orchestra conducted by Claudio AbbadoClaudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
.
- 1978 The NYO tours IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, featuring in the Festival of Youth Orchestra held in honour of the 30th anniversary of the State of Israel. Tour continues to FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
- 1980 Founding of the South African National Youth Orchestra Foundation.
- 1984 The NYO performs the commissioned work "Half Moon" together with choirs from SowetoSowetoSoweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and SebokengSebokeng, GautengSebokeng is a township in southern Gauteng, South Africa near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark .-History:...
. The SABCSouth African Broadcasting CorporationThe South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
broadcasts a documentary featuring the orchestra course.
- 1988 The SABC broadcasts a documentary on the history and background of the Course. Gérard Korsten conducts the National Youth Orchestra in a SABC-TV studio recording.
- 1994 The NYO participates in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival with the performance broadcast on BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
3.
- 1998 The NYO participates in a massed concert on Red SquareRed SquareRed Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, in a performance that was televised worldwide. Further performance at the Moscow ConservatoryMoscow ConservatoryThe Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
.
- 2000 The NYO participates in the AardklopAardklopAardklop is an annual South African arts festival held since 1998 in the town of Potchefstroom in the North-West province of South Africa. This cultural festival incorporates predominantly Afrikaans theatre, dance, music, cabaret and visual arts, and is held in a variety of venues in and around the...
arts festival in Potchefstroom.
- 2006 The NYO performs at the Beethoven festival in BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Germany.
- 2010 The NYO:Strings participate in the National Arts FestivalNational Arts FestivalThe National Arts Festival is one of the most important events on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent....
in GrahamstownGrahamstownGrahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
, and the NYO is led by a female conductor, Ewa StrusińskaEwa StrusinskaEwa Strusińska is a Polish conductor born in Stalowa Wola. Studying at the Frédéric Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw she was awarded diplomas first in choral conducting, then in orchestral conducting in 2005 following a performance with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.Ewa Strusińska has...
, for the first time.
- 2011 Archbishop Emeritus Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
narrates the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
.
Past Conductors
Leo Quayle (South Africa)John Arnold (United Kingdom)
Anton Hartman (South Africa)
Avi Ostrowsky
Avi Ostrowsky
Avi Ostrowsky is a music director originally from Israel. He studied with Gary Bertini and Mordechai Seter in the Rubin Academy of Tel Aviv. He then studied with Hans Swarowsky in the Music Academy of Vienna and with Franco Ferrara in Italy...
(Israel)
Alberto Bolet (USA)
Alois Hochstraser (Austria)
Ali (Alexander) Rahbari
Ali Rahbari
Ali Rahbari is a Persian composer and conductor, who played with more than 120 European orchestras including Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
(Austria)
Howard Griffiths
Howard Griffiths (conductor)
Howard Griffiths is a British conductor. He studied music at the Royal College of Music, London.He has lived in Switzerland since 1981. From 1996 to 2006, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra . Griffiths is a champion of music by contemporary Turkish and...
(Switzerland)
John Hopkins
John Hopkins (conductor)
John Hopkins OBE is a Yorkshire-born, British conductor and administrator. Hopkins moved to New Zealand in 1957 and to Australia in 1963. He conducted the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in 1987 in one of New Zealand's first Orchestral Composers' Reading Workshops...
(Australia)
Reinhard Schwarz (Austria)
Bernhard Gueller (Germany)
Gérard Korsten (South Africa)
Viktor Yampolsky (USA)
Omri Hadari (Israel)
Robert Maxym (Germany)
Hikotaro Yazaki (Japan)
Conrad van Alphen (South Africa)
Stefan Solyom (Sweden)
Fredrik Burstedt (Sweden)
Ewa Strusińska
Ewa Strusinska
Ewa Strusińska is a Polish conductor born in Stalowa Wola. Studying at the Frédéric Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw she was awarded diplomas first in choral conducting, then in orchestral conducting in 2005 following a performance with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.Ewa Strusińska has...
(Poland)
Gerben Grooten (Netherlands)
See also
- Hugo Lambrechts Music CentreHugo Lambrechts Music CentreHugo Lambrechts Music Centre is a dedicated centre for the study of classical music for school-going pupils. Established in 1986, it is housed in one of the oldest school buildings in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.-Facilities:...
- List of concert halls
- NewMusicSANewMusicSANewMusicSA is the South African section of the International Society for Contemporary Music . Its formation on 10 May 1999 heralded the return of South African representation at the ISCM after many decades....
- University of PretoriaUniversity of PretoriaThe University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
- University of South AfricaUniversity of South AfricaThe University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...