Red Carpet Violin Welcome
As year-end events are in full swing, the Red Carpet Violin welcome is bowling over invited guests. Everyone wants to strut the red carpet before posing for a photo like a celebrity!
Women’s Month
With Women’s Day falling in August in South Africa, the month takes on a feminine theme. PSG Wealth hosted a women’s month financial road show for their female clients. The evening highlighted the role women can play in shaping their financial futures. I had my note book ready and learnt a few things whilst performing at these events!
Somewhere over the rainbow…way up high
This lovely little ballad from The Wizard of Oz just never gets old and a special number to relive some childhood memories.
The song is included in the violin exam repertoire currently which is the reason for the video recording.
Kids say the sweetest things!
At a recent public performance in the new Loftus Park centre a little boy drew me this picture on the back of a menu and rather shyly handed it over.
It is so lovely to play at venues where children get to hear the violin performed. To see the look of surprise and amazement on their faces it truly special.
A translation of the text reads ‘You play beautiful violin’
Loftus Park have great restaurants and a stage/activity area. Next time you’re in the area , pop in!
Wedding Bells and Flower Girls
These sweeties were too cute not to blog about. It is a heart-warming moment when little flower girls or page boys walk in whilst I am playing a wedding entrance or exit song. These 4 little ones melted everyone’s hearts in their matching floral dresses.
It’s Human Nature For Art’s Sake
It was a treat to perform for the ‘Human.Nature’ photographic exhibition by Natalie Field held recently at the Berman Contemporary Gallery in Sandton, which attracted much interest from art lovers and investors. The beautiful shots from a recent artist-in-residence programme capture mythology, nature and the human form exquisitely.
For more information on Natalie Field’s work see – http://nataliefield.photography/
and the works at Berman Contemporary – https://bermancontemporary.com/
Water Music
The theme of tonight’s event was ‘Water’ to highlight the topical issues facing us regarding water. Each table had a different expression of water decoration and the event was perfectly situated along the Vaal river while I added some ‘water music’ to the occasion.
Water is currently a very topical issue in South Africa with our current drought conditions. Water is precious!
Play it again! We Recycle, Do You?
Recycling was the theme of this event for Coca Cola’s school recycling awards sponsorship. Various schools and communities demonstrated out-of-the-box creativity on how to re-use and up-cycle waste materials found in their environment. In keeping with the up-cycling theme, I brought along my Tin Can violin which is made solely from reclaimed materials and yet plays like real violin. To complete the look I had a dress made up with hand-cut plastic bag trim. It was such a pleasure to meet some of the kids who are changing mindsets in their communities about waste.
The day ended on a poignant note though, as I was pulling out of the inner-city venue, thinking about outfits made from reclaimed materials, my eye spotted a homeless man just outside the venue, wearing nothing but 3 plastic bags…for some, recycling is not a choice.
My Tin Can Violin is a one of a kind instrument made […]
Birthday Broadcast
Chatting violins, orchestras and Stradivarius plus a surprise performance of happy birthday for the broadcast host Gareth Cliff at Cliff Central. You can catch the interview here:
http://cliffcentral.com/gcs/gcs-25-8-17-pt3/
The figure in the photos was actually the birthday cake made by Crystal Du Preez at Sensational Suga – and the head actually bobbled!
As Unique as a Snowflake
On arriving at the Snowflake building in Potchefstroom this weekend, I was convinced I was at the wrong address. Being early to set up for a violin wedding performance at this venue, there was only one other car in the dusty parking lot, but the place otherwise looked like a derelict building. Plucking up the courage to speak to the occupants of the other car, I realised that I was at the right place and that appearances can be deceiving. The Snowflake building is an old flour mill turned venue that has character around every corner. It is delightfully quirky and hasn’t tried to hide it’s industrial past.
After the ceremony we managed to sneak in a few photos ourselves of this unique venue.