GEORGE NEWS - Grandparents, parents and siblings turned the Dotsure Arts Theatre into a hive of activity on Friday night, 7 June, as they came to support the Young Musicians Competition finalists who were playing their pieces for the last time in this year's competition.
It was a bitterly cold evening and people were dressed in warm coats and scarves. Unfortunately this, along with the acoustics of the theatre, tended to absorb the sound of the youngest performers and in some cases the sound did not get deeper into the theatre. It was a shame as all these youngsters have put many months of hard work into their performance.
Holy Cross Primary Instrumental Ensemble opened the programme with a neat performance of Blinded Lights that they obviously enjoyed playing.
It was a long programme of mixed vocal, instrumental and ensemble works, mostly music from stage shows and films, with a few ‘classical’ items thrown into the mix. Here I have a problem with the choice of pieces. There was little variation in tempo and dynamics and I query using piped piano as an accompaniment (recorded accompaniment played through loud speakers), as it upsets the balance of the instruments.
However there were a few highlights.
Clara Adrian sang La Spagnola with good Italian charm but, at times, was overshadowed by the piano accompaniment.
Jesse van Heerden tackled a Chopin ballade with courage. Starting slowly he worked his way through to the hectic middle section and finished with a flourish.
Maia Leonard gave a very musical performance of a Romance by Widor while Misha van der Merwe stylishly took on a sonata by Peter Klatzow - never easy. She gets a good tone from her cello and was well accompanied by an empathetic pianist.
The Outeniqua vocal quartet blended together nicely but their diction could have been clearer. The concert ended with the Outeniqua High School Jazz Ensemble who obviously enjoy playing together.
To gather a crowd of excited youngsters and keep them calm is no mean undertaking, yet Sandra Tillbrook has managed this for many years and she must be congratulated on the smooth running of this gala concert, making it an enjoyable evening.
The Outeniqua Jazz Ensemble won trophies for Best Instrumental Ensemble and Best Senior Ensemble.
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