The Africa United Youth Orchestra (Auyo) in rehearsal
The Africa United Youth Orchestra (Auyo) in rehearsal
Image: Supplied

Classical music is a style of music steeped in antiquity. Composers, conductors, musicians and orchestras globally are challenging this stuffy stereotype by introducing novel concepts and practices into it. An initiative under the auspices of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra added to the modernisation and innovation of classical music by bringing together 64 musicians aged 18-30 from various African countries to form the Africa United Youth Orchestra (Auyo).

At the newly established orchestra’s rehearsals, trendy sneakers tapped the floor next to cello stands, violas rested on shoulders clad with the latest threads as young musicians from the Canary Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria and SA practised a selection of African and Western compositions together. The first of its kind, the Auyo performed a concert at the University of SA’s ZK Matthews Hall in Pretoria on July 28 and will perform a second concert at the esteemed Carnegie Hall in New York on August 3.  

The idea for an all-African orchestra germinated and sprouted in the mind of Mzansi National Philharmonic’s CEO and artistic director Bongani Tembe for more than a dozen years.

“As Africans, we don’t collaborate across the continent enough,” Tembe said, explaining the source of the concept “It’s our continent and it’s very important that we are alive to our heritage, that we tell our stories around the world.” And now, as this idea finds root, Tembe says, “To have these young musicians from different countries around Africa come together, collaborate and do something here in SA and perform at the most prestigious concert hall in the world (Carnegie Hall), showcasing Africa to the world, is a fantastic thing!”

Great hopes

The immediate expectation for the young musicians, conducted by highly acclaimed and globally sought-after American conductor William Eddins, is for them to perform their repertoire of music at the highest level of excellence at Carnegie Hall where they will participate in the World Orchestra Week (WOW) event. A total of five continents will each be represented by an orchestra comprising young musicians at WOW, and a special performance conducted by famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel will see about 700 participating musicians to play together.

Tembe has great hopes for the young Auyo orchestra members. “These young people are the future leaders of professional orchestras,” he said. He envisions a future in which the unique notations for African art music are widely used on the continent and elsewhere. While these notations do not yet exist, for Tembe the Auyo is a vital step towards realising that goal. For the first of its few planned concerts, the Auyo opened with a rendition of Fatše Laheso (My Country) by Michael Mosoeu Moerane — an SA composer whose syncopated rhythms and harmonies and sudden transitions in modulation make his work complex to perform.

The orchestra also performs two works by Mzilikazi Khumalo, iNkondlo kaNandi (Nandi’s Love Song) from uShaka kaSenzangakhona and Sengiyeza (Here I Come) from Princess Magogo; Die Kind (The Child) by Bongani Ndodana-Breen; Pata Pata popularised by Miriam Makeba; and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No 9 From the New World.

Young people are the future leaders of professional orchestras
Young people are the future leaders of professional orchestras
Image: Supplied

Target audience

Tembe chose three works by SA composers for artistic and practical reasons. Sonically, the three former works give the uninitiated audience member a taste of how SA art music melds traditional music sound scapes with Western musical influences. While showcasing African composers was a political priority, it was also important to feature works a number of the musicians and orchestra leaders were familiar with. This was done to ensure that the works would be correctly interpreted and rendered by the orchestra.

The young musicians themselves are the target audience for this initiative and young people are important beneficiaries of the work that Tembe and Eddins do in classical music education and practice.  

Simultaneously leading the KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg philharmonic orchestras alongside the Mzansi National Philharmonic, Tembe places emphasis on the role that music can play in young people’s lives.

“The work that we do with orchestras is not only the symphonies. Just about every week, the KwaZulu-Natal or the Johannesburg (philharmonic orchestras) go to townships and do workshops with kids, and perform as part of the community. I would encourage every young person to pick up an instrument and learn it. It is proven that young people getting involved in the arts and playing instruments is good for them on so many levels.”  

Though important, Eddins does not see the training of the next generation of professional musicians as the ultimate purpose of his work. “The end goal is to affect society by having people learn about themselves and about other people through something that is very hard, a little weird and you have to be vulnerable when you do this.”

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