
2 minute read
AND ALL THAT JAZZ.
from Die Matie - May 2023
by Die Matie
The quietness that usually falls on an audience before an instrumental band starts to play was quickly broken by the request that Felicia Lesch, conductor of the Stellenbosch University (SU) Jazz Band. “You must make noise and you must dance,” she said when welcoming the audience. This definitely set the tone for the cheerful and lively performance that was to follow.
The SU Jazz Band’s performance on Saturday, 22 April was part of the many performances of the Endler 2023 concert series. The idea behind their performance was to pay tribute to the late Gloria Bosman, South African jazz singer. "Initially, Gloria Bosman was going to be a headline for the concert as she's been doing concerts with us for the past eight years or so, so when she unexpectedly passed we decided to do a tribute,” explained Lesch. The program for the evening was set up with 90% of the compositions being South African. Some of the songs played in tribute to Bosman include, Bosmans singles, 'Lover's Dance' released in 2006, and 'Timeless' released in 1999. The performance of the evening was titled, 'The music of our sons and daughters', which Stuart Martin, member of the Maties Jazz society and SU Jazz band, interpreted as a comment on how, "the students are really making a name for themselves, seeing as this is actually a classical institute, and now we're getting international artists like Pascal Haas to come and work with us."
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The evening kicked off with a bang (on the drums) by the young, yet talented students from the Outeniqua High School Jazz band. These students left the audience vibing with their jazzed up version of the classic song, 'My Favorite Things' from the film, The Sound of Music
Lynette Petersen, music teacher at Outeniqua High and SU alumni, surprised the audience when she made it known that all of the students are under the age of 18.
Next up were the Newbies; their name is definitely not a reflection of their skill, but rather of the amount of time they have been a part of the SU Jazz Band. The Newbies started getting lessons in jazz theory a year ago from Ramon Alexander, full time musician and leader of the Maties Jazz Society. “We started off by getting used to key changes and swinging,” explained Courtney Sampson, second-year student and member of the Newbies. Janine October, third-year student and Newbies member who originally trained in classical piano made her drumming debut at the performance on 22 April. “I think it really does push us as instrumentalists to do different genres,” she says.
Pascal Haas, German drummer and conductor from the University of Munich, together with the SU Jazz Band performed songs from the Charly Parker Jazz Plus strings 1950's album where they presented the two separate worlds of classical music and jazz together in a unique way.
The toe tapping continued when the SU Jazz Band played their last song and had everyone to their feet and dancing with their rendition of 'Dance Some More' by Mango Groove. October perfectly described the vibe when asked about the performance: “The emotions were electric!”


Later on in the month the SU Jazz Band will also be performing in Cape Town at the Big Bang Jazz Festival on Wednesday, 31 May.
Be sure to keep an eye on the @sukonservatorium Instagram page for updates on their lunchtime concerts and other performances at the Endler Hall.