YOUTH ORCHESTRA TO DELIGHT AT ARTSCAPE’S NEXT LUNCH HOUR CONCERT

The Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra will delight with works from Antonín Dvořák when the Artscape Virtual Lunch Hour concert, in association with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), takes to the stage on 24 November at 12:00.

Even though lockdown brought an end to the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra’s weekly rehearsals, there was no end to the music!  The CPO stepped in and each CPO musician was paired with a young musician to mentor them in two works … Capriccio espagnole and Slavonic Dance Op 46 No. 1 in C by Dvorak.   For some, teaching online was new and meant some adaption, but all grew into it so well that this result stunned them all.  The concertmaster was Caro Hill, with Phillip Martens sitting beside her as associate, and each section was led by a CPO musician so what should have been a side-by-side concert became a CPYO concert with some CPO musicians filling in!  The result speaks for itself and we are delighted that it worked out so well.

The Lunch Hour concerts have become a legendary quarterly Arts activity for many in the immediate vicinity of the cultural institution on the Foreshore as well as the surrounding CBD.  Therefore, as a cultural institution together with the Associated Arts companies inclusive of the CPO, Cape Town Opera, Jazzart Dance Theatre, Cape Town City Ballet and Unmute Dance Company we are certainly not holding back to present this ongoing activity, which we now offer in the virtual realm.

Equally it remains integral to Artscape’s ethos as an inclusive cultural centre for all, showcasing all arts genres, while it offers a platform of collaboration with all the aforementioned arts companies housed at the Theatre Centre to showcase their wares free of charge to the public on a quarterly basis. The mission of Artscape is to facilitate, produce and promote the arts in ways that advance nation building, to produce productions of a multi-cultural nature and to establish business partnerships involving all stakeholders.