While live Jazz and Western Art Music performances are set to be the main course of the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition finals, attendees at the glittering event will also be treated to visual h’oeuvres courtesy of Alliance Française.
Forming part of ‘September Jive! A Tribute to SA Musical Heritage’, Alliance Française will be revealing portions of their upcoming vinyl and portraiture exhibitions at the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition finals, to be held on 20 August at the Linder Auditorium, Johannesburg.
“This exhibition is part of a wider programme of events related to the musical heritage of South Africa, focusing on the visual side of music,” says Jean Bourdin, the Director of Alliance Française, Johannesburg. “This exhibition will highlight the history of South Africa’s album sleeves and will be a tribute to these recordings as well as to the designers,” he continues.
The exhibition will consist of 20 album sleeves, taken from LPs and CDs, which forms part of the SA Musical Graphics – Classics and Collectables exhibition. Attendees on the night will have the opportunity to appreciate the artwork on albums such as The Bogard Brothers Street Corner Jazz, King Kong’s All African Jazz Opera, Hip Hop Pantsula’s Omang Reloaded, and Dollar Brand’s Underground in Africa among many others.
Also on show will be 10 portraits of personalities within the South African music industry, who have selected their most beloved local albums, a portion of the My Favourite Sounds – Music and Media Personalities Speak out about their Favourite Tracks and Albums exhibit.
Bourdin explains that the album sleeves that will be on show were selected by a panel of experts, comprising: Rob Allingham, music historian and curator of September Jive! A tribute to SA musical heritage; Siemon Allen, South African artist and record collector currently living in the United States as a visiting professor in the department of Sculpture and extended media at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA; Caroline Hillary, CEO of Redflag, a design and marketing company specializing in music industry releases and events; and Molemo Moiloa, Director of Visual Arts Network South Africa.
Bourdin believes the exhibition will add an extra sensorial element to the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition. “It will be a very interesting visual complement to the SAMRO event. Along with the young talents being exposed to the public and the jury, who represent the future of the SA music scene, the exhibition will be a reminder of what came before and will offer a short journey to this fascinating heritage,” he says.
After perusing this visual showcase, guests at the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition will sit down to enjoy two exceptional Jazz and two Western Art Music performances. These performances will make up the ultimate phase of the 2016 SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition, where the four finalists in this year’s Instrumental category will go head-to-head in the hopes of laying claim to one of two R200 000 scholarships from the SAMRO Foundation to further their music studies abroad.
To find out more about attending the finals of the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition at the Linder Auditorium on Saturday, 20 August 2016, email [email protected]. For tickets to the finals, visit www.webtickets.co.za.
Visit www.samrofoundation.org.za for more information on the SAMRO Foundation’s programmes and projects, or follow @SAMROFoundation on Twitter and Facebook.
