Five rising young composers will see their works premiered by some of South Africa’s best musicians at a concert evening on Saturday, 18 August 2018, at the Linder Auditorium.
Ndabuzekwayo Perfect Bombo, Lise Morrison, Conrad Asman, Riley Giandhari and Andrew Hoole will toss their hats into the ring for the prized scholarships in this year’s competition for budding South African composers who want to expand their career with academic study or masterclasses overseas.
The competition, presented by The SAMRO Foundation, rotates in its focus every four years, alternately rewarding outstanding singers, instrumentalists, keyboard players and composers. While the two main categories for the awards are Jazz and Western Art, this year the addition of special awards for works that present Indigenous African Music (IAM) and the late Surendran Reddy’s clazz style have been included. Two first prizes of R200 000 for scholarships to pursue postgraduate music studies or professional development overseas will be awarded.
A selection of South Africa’s premier musicians will perform works by the finalists live at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg, where the winner and runner-up in each category as well as special awards will be announced.
“We are thrilled to welcome these music creators to the SAMRO family, and excitedly await their music to come to life” says André le Roux, managing director of The SAMRO Foundation.
“This year, the application process was online and our esteemed panel of adjudicators also completed their evaluations online. This move to digital has made the entire process far more streamlined and precise for all concerned. We look forward to an evening of cracking new, original South African music on 18 August.”