January 31, 2007
By Lucille Davie
JOHANNESBURG now has a symphony orchestra, considered by some to be essential if it wants to be a world-class city.
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), with 43 musicians, is the city's most popular orchestra and, according to its website, has boasted the vision of producing "world-class music for a world-class city" for some time.
The JPO, born out of the defunct National Symphony Orchestra, the SABC's radio and recording orchestra for 75 years, was formed in 2000. For the past six years it has largely been funded by private corporate sponsors but it will now become the city's official orchestra.
It has a loyal following of music lovers, with a subscriber base of over 1 200 season-ticket holders. Its four, five-week concert seasons are keenly anticipated by those music lovers.
Shadrack Bokaba, the orchestra's managing director, made a presentation to the parliamentary arts and culture portfolio committee in Cape Town last June, putting the case for Joburg to have its own full-time orchestra. In September he learned that his appeal had been successful: Joburg was to become the country's third state-funded orchestra. Cape Town and Durban also have symphony orchestras.
Bokaba says the orchestra, which has been a part-time orchestra because of a shortage of funding, needs between R14-million to R18-million a year to survive, and to present a repertoire of variety.
This means that in addition to its four classical concert seasons, it will be going into the townships and presenting music with a broader appeal, even encouraging people to sing along.
"We want to make the orchestra much more accessible to people," he says. In the past it has played pop, jazz and kwaito for different audiences, and has provided musical packages that include the music of Freddie Mercury, Queen or Star Wars, as well as fireworks picnic concerts and chamber music concerts.
The JPO will, in future, be partnering with a range of other performers, like opera and ballet companies. "We will be playing with the St Petersburg Ballet company in February to play 22 concerts for them, in Swan Lake and Giselle."
The orchestra has received R7-million from the National Lottery for 2007. Bokaba is still to approach the City and the province for additional funding.
The JPO established the Performer Development Initiative (PDI), overseen by the South African Music Education Trust (Samet), with whom it has a joint venture. The PDI aims to develop musical talent on a professional level and in so doing, encourages musicians to remain in the country. Samet concentrates on bringing music education to township schools. JPO members teach in both these initiatives.
The JPO has nurtured a training orchestra, with 30 "really talented" students, says Bokaba. It is an independent entity, playing its own concerts, and of course, providing a nursery from which the JPO can recruit members.
The JPO performs at the Linder Auditorium on the University of the Witwatersrand's education campus in Parktown, but its new home will be at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown. Funding has to be found for renovating the three floors it has been offered at the centre. "A few millions [of rand] will be needed and we are putting together proposals now to approach various stakeholders in Gauteng."
The JPO is a section 21 company owned by some of its musicians and managed by a board and a financial and artistic committee.
A coup for the orchestra came in September 2006, when top businessman Cyril Ramaphosa became the its patron. Bokaba, then acting managing director, said at the time that Ramaphosa "would lend his substantial influence to furthering the support of the orchestra in the business world". Indeed, Ramaphosa's influence saved last year's fourth season from being cancelled.
There are several other orchestras in the city: the Pro-Musica Orchestra, based in Roodepoort, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, and various ensembles.
Orchestras in Europe are state-sponsored, allowing their musicians to be full-time musicians.
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