Taking the classics to the people
Opera singer Bongani Tembe runs KwaZulu-Natal’s orchestra con brio, writes Shelley Seid
THERE is a story that Bongani Tembe is particularly fond of. The artistic director and CEO of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra told it recently from the stage of the Durban City Hall, at a symphony concert to celebrate his 20th year at the helm.
In the late ’90s, the story goes, Tembe took the orchestra to St Augustine’s, an Anglican church in the Durban township of Umlazi, to perform with the local choir.
After the performance, a Mr Zakele turned to him and said: “Bongani, today I can call this my orchestra.” Two days later, the orchestra performed at the Chatsworth Fair and a young Indian teacher told him: “This is my orchestra.” The following Thursday, one of the elderly women of the Berea claimed the orchestra as hers.
That people from such diverse sectors of society could all claim ownership was, for Tembe, a triumph. “It was a major challenge, but we have managed to become relevant to different parts of our society,” he said.
It may be more allegory than story, but it’s still worth telling. That the orchestra is a force to be recognised, that it claims to be the premier orchestra in Africa — that it exists at all — is for the most part the result of Tembe’s drive and passion.
In 1994, he, his wife, Linda Bukhosini, now chief executive of the Playhouse Company, and daughter, Nondumiso, moved back to Durban. The couple had spent the previous seven years in New York, training at the Juilliard School and performing on stages around the world, as South Africa’s first black professional opera singers.
“[Nelson] Mandela came to New York just before the elections and asked us to bring our talents back home,” said Tembe. “I voted at the UN and it was exciting, but when I saw those lines on the TV screen . . . you just wanted to be in South Africa.”
This was not the best time for the arts.
When the couple had left in the 1980s, South Africa was staging about 30 operas a year; by the time they returned, there were probably fewer than five or six annual productions.
The role of administrator was
We have managed to become relevant to different parts of our society
the furthest thing from Tembe’s mind, but when the opportunity arose, he grabbed it.
Just two years into his reign, political pressure to close arts councils and orchestras spread across South Africa. In Durban, the choice was a retrenchment package for the musicians or a modest grant of seed money to help the orchestra make its own way. Tembe was adamant: Durban had to have an orchestra.
At the time the city had spent R300-million building the International Convention Centre (ICC). Tembe approached the municipality and asked for “.01% of that budget — just R3-million” to give ICC delegates a taste of local culture. The upshot was that the centre was opened by what was then the only full-time orchestra in South Africa.
During his tenure, Tembe has raised considerable funds and brought to Durban some of the greatest names in classical music — Zubin Mehta of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian-born pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, American soprano Renée Fleming and Irish flute player Sir James Galway. He has taken the orchestra into townships, far-flung rural areas and across Africa; nurtured a youth orchestra and
We take what was theirs . . . make it fresh and celebratory and then send it back to them
cadetship; and coaxed powerful political players to his cause.
Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa, for example, has been quoted praising the orchestra’s use of classical music and opera to open up opportunities for the disadvantaged through its national cadetship programme.
During South Africa’s recent cultural exchange programme with France, Tembe, commissioner-general of the project — and with characteristic vigour — “bombarded” the French, taking almost 1 000 South African artists to more than 150 cities across the country.
“Over this period I saw perceptions change,” he said. “If you have just been to a great dance performance, you no longer think South Africa is just crime and corruption.”
His is a story of tenacity, timing and, as he calls it, “Godgiven” talent. Born in Umlazi, the son of a church minister, Tembe sang in the church choir from the age of 10. He was good at maths and science, and his first job was as a laboratory analyst. His dream, though, was to learn to sing opera.
Another story he tells is of his endless quest to find an opera teacher. He was not allowed to attend white institutions and he could not read music. Finally he was given a name, Anthony Hannan, and an address.
“I didn’t know the suburbs,” he said. “There were no taxis in those days, so I walked from the centre of town, asking people along the way.”
It took him five hours to get there. “I rang the bell and a voice shouted: ‘No work!’ I rang the bell again and the same thing happened. I rang the bell a third time and shouted: ‘ Anthony Hannan!’ Only then was I allowed in.”
After much negotiation, and having heard his voice, Hannan agreed to be his coach.
“Never mind that I had walked for five hours, I left his house with springs on my feet.”
Powerful people have their detractors. Tembe has been called “capricious” and “arrogant”. He is not an easy man to work for, it is said, and he can be unfocused and demanding. But these same critics are quick to concede that the orchestra exists because of his personality.
He attributes his success to an unwavering vision as well as always playing open cards with the orchestra.
“When people are clear, they go with you. Even bad news is OK because they know.”
And his other tips? A strong desire to succeed, always being hungry to learn, and integrity.
Others might point to his dogged determination paired with an optimism that could be called naive if it did not mostly pay off. Tembe is also a likable fellow; charming, warm and urbane, he plays the role of musical diplomat with aplomb.
It is music that wins the day, said pianist and artistic entrepreneur Christopher Duigan, who has performed as a soloist with the orchestra for 25 years.
“When the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra go overseas and perform classical as well as traditional music, they astound the Europeans. We take what was theirs and what may be slightly stagnant, make it fresh and celebratory and then send it back to them. I take my hat off to Bongani.”