Art song recital at Oude Nectar
Autumn in Stellenbosch brings a glorious change of season as our landscapes transform into a tapestry of ruby and amber, and Old Nectar Concerts bring you the warm mezzo soprano voice of Minette du Toit-Pearce and pianist Pieter Grobler for an Art Song recital with the programme titled If I… at this historic wine cellar in Jonkershoek, on Sunday June 9, at 3pm.
Domenick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize-winning setting of extracts from Virginia Woolf’s diary sets the tone for an Art Song recital exploring the most personal thoughts of three poets.
The popular musical styles of Madeleine Dring and Lori Laitman create a direct emotional connection with John Betjeman and Emily Dickinson’s poetry.
Argento’s mammoth cycle, on the other hand, uses realism as a compositional technique (ranging between atonality, serialism, romanticism or even contemporary lighter styles) to vividly explore Woolf’s tender memories of family, irreverent observations on personalities, of anxiety, war, hope and dark humour.
Minette du Toit-Pearce, head of the Singing Division at Stellenbosch University, began her vocal training under the tutelage of Dr Magdalena Oosthuizen at Stellenbosch University, graduating with BMus, BMus (Hons) and MMus degrees.
She regularly performs as a soloist in oratorios and recitals and is an accomplished singer of lieder both locally and abroad. She has performed with all major orchestras in South Africa and made her American debut as soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis in 2018.
Pieter Grobler is an Associate Professor of piano at Stellenbosch University, where he lectures in piano performance, chamber music, vocal accompaniment and repertoire studies.
Pieter completed his undergraduate studies with Joseph Stanford at the University of Pretoria and postgraduate studies with Joseph Banowetz at the University of North Texas in the USA, where he completed the MM and DMA piano performance degrees.
He has performed as soloist and chamber musician all over South Africa, in the USA, Canada, China and Bulgaria.
This carefully curated recital that was awarded a prize for best Classical Music performance at the 2023 Woordfees arts festival in Stellenbosch.
Young artists Jason September, tenor, and pianist Rayno Booysen will also perform a short curtain raiser.
Tickets are available at Quicket for R200 each, and include selected wines from Banhoek’s renowned Oldenburg Wine Estate and finger food at interval.
Student tickets are R50. Guests are invited to arrive early or stay after the concert to enjoy the tranquility of the Old Nectar gardens.