Star-studded line-up at ‘Starlight Classics’
RMB Starlight Classics will welcome the prodigiously talented giant of jazz and world music, Hugh Masekela, to his debut performance at Starlight Classics under the stars at The Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West on March 11 and 12.
The trumpeter will share the stage with internationally acclaimed soprano, Pretty Yende.
Concert maestro Richard Cock and director Darren Hayward promise to take concertgoers on another musical journey of unique Afro symphonic sounds performed by a star-studded line-up of artists and musicians.
Maestro Cock says that this year’s show will be extra special as ‘Bra Hugh’ celebrates his 75th birthday. In 1960, at the age of 21, Masekela left South Africa, and while in exile, began to hone his, now signature Afro jazz sound as a flugelhorn player, trumpeter, bandleader, composer and singer.
The performer maintains a busy international tour schedule as his fanbase around the world continues to grow.
Twenty seven year-old Yende has been something of a musical tsunami in operatic circles from Europe to Australia during the past decade.
Though musically inclined, 10 years ago she had never heard of opera. Then one day, she and her family were at home together watching TV when a British Airways advertisement came on featuring 10 seconds of opera music, The Flower Duet.
She became intrigued with this form of expression, and asked her high school teacher if this was a sound that a human voice could create, “because it almost sounded supernatural,” she said in an interview. At that moment, she decided that this was an artistic form she wished to pursue.
No Starlight Classics concert is complete without The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, who will form the backbone of the production.
Another stage highlight will be the vibrant Mzansi Youth Choir – regarded by some as the best performance choir in the country. They will be accompanied by talented individuals, such as baritone Monde Msutwana, tenor Stefan Louw, jazz singer Melanie Scholtz and alto Sarah Theron.
Performances will be at 7.30pm. Gates open at 4pm on both days. All at Vergelegen Wine Estate, Lourensford Road in Somerset West. There will be no rain check option for either night.
Another stage highlight will be the vibrant Mzansi Youth Choir