Excitement grips SAMRO scholarship competitors ahead of big day

Two winners will be awarded with R200 000 ($15 500) each towards scholarships to pursue postgraduate music studies or professional development overseas. Two runners-up will get R75 000 apiece. This year the organisation included special awards for works that present indigenous African music and the late Surendran Reddy’s clazz style.

The contestants – Ndabo Zulu, Lise Morrison, Conrad Asman, Riley Giandhari and Andrew Hoole – will see their works premiered by some of South Africa’s best musicians.

“We are thrilled to welcome these music creators to the SAMRO family, and excitedly await their music to come to life,” SAMRO Foundation managing director André le Roux said. "We look forward to an evening of cracking new, original South African music on 18 August.”

SAMRO CEO Nothando Migogo told Music In Africa that the contestants would acquire publicity through the competition.

“I know it sounds clichéd but there is already a big achievement in the sense that you get exposure to different networks, channels and people in the industry,” she said. “For me it’s a matter of ‘make the most of what you have’ and obviously on the night, all the best to the finalists. I am quite confident the calibre of compositions is very high, so it’s very exciting.”

The competition rotates in its focus every four years, alternately rewarding outstanding singers, instrumentalists, keyboard players and composers. 

Meet the finalists

Music In Africa caught up with most of the finalists during a media briefing at SAMRO’s offices in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, yesterday.

“I am excited and nervous,” media composer and music lecturer Andrew Hoole said. “I am also grateful and thankful that I got this opportunity to be here. Tomorrow is going to be a day filled with rehearsals for us; it’s going to be intense. Two of my works will be performed. I have four rehearsals, two a piece, and I’m looking forward to hearing my music jump off the page onto the stage. Since the announcement I have been looking forward to the 18th knowing that I will find out on that day whether or not I’m going to secure one of the prizes.”

Hoole, who graduated with a master’s degree in composition from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2013, has orchestrated the scores for animated films Adventures in Zambezia and Khumba, as well as the international feature Staines. He has composed and produced music for several TV commercials, video and board games as well as digital installations.

Ndabo Zulu, who grew up in KwaZulu-Natal where he learnt music basics with the Field Band Foundation, said the competition had exposed him to the industry.

“I feel very fortunate to be part of this competition,” he said. “For me the highest privilege is that my music will be played and it gives me the opportunity for people to know that I exist as a composer and as musician. The competition has put my name on the scene because this is a competition a lot people follow, and now people know who I am because I don’t live in South Africa. When I began writing music, I started outside the country and people didn’t know who I was until this opportunity.”

Based in Oslo, Norway, Zulu completed his studies in jazz and popular music at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). He also studied towards a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance at the University of Stavanger (Norway) in 2017. Zulu is currently enrolled at the Norwegian Music Academy in Olso where he’s pursuing a master ́s degree.

Johannesburg-based composer Conrad Asman said he was looking towards the diverse nature of Saturday’s event.

“There will be a whole range of different music that we’re going to hear; different pieces, styles and players. I always find every concert as a good learning experience for musicians and especially composers.

“Competitions are always a mixture of excitement and nerves. I really look forward to it and I think it’s going to be a great concert. After hearing that I was nominated as a finalist, it gave sort of a pause to realise that I have the potential to be a member of South Africa’s composers. It enabled me the opportunity to take this art of composing to another level. If I win I would definitely use the money to apply overseas,” Asman, who is studying towards a bachelor’s degree in music at UCT’s South African College of Music, said.

Another contender, Riley Giandhari, told Music In Africa: “I am very excited and nervous. I just want to have fun with it and it’s an honour. I’m thankful that I’m here. I really looking forward to Saturday. I would like to go abroad and pursue my studies if I win.”

Born in Durban, Giandhari started playing drums at a young age. He studied jazz at UKZN in 2013 and formed four bands as part of his master’s degree in composition. He retains his childhood passion for percussion and is a session drummer who records and performs regularly with the National Youth Jazz Band at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in Johannesburg. He has also performed at the Oslo Jazz Festival with Nyimbo ya Bantu. He has also shared the stage with the late Hugh Masekela.

The last competitor, Lise Morrison, who was not present at the event, is a composer of concert music based in The Hague, Netherlands. She holds a BMus from Stellenbosch University and an MMus from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Her music has been performed at events across South Africa and Europe, and she was recently invited to the Lucerne Festival for masterclasses and the performance of a new work.

Meanwhile, composer Graham Newcater, who won the first SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition in 1962 at the age of 20, was also at Thursday’s media event.

Honouring Madiba

SAMRO will honour Nelson Mandela on Saturday with a collaborative effort between South African bassist Concord Nkabinde and leading drummer and percussionist David Klassen. Titled Nelson Mandela – The Song Lives On, Nkabinde and Klassen’s performance will reflect on Mandela’s love for music.

“The project was formed in 2016 with initial support from the Concerts SA Fund, a project supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the SAMRO Foundation. This work reminds us once again that the Long Walk to Freedom is far from over,” the SAMRO Foundation said.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Webtickets.

For more information, visit www.samrofoundation.org.za.