Living in a world where the emphasis is generally to divide and separate, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Albert Luthuli, our four South African Nobel Laureates, have sought rather to unify and heal. It is upon this inspiration that the pillars of our nation's new humanity have been built, a humanity reaching out to support those who have had to endure the ravages of war, discrimination and genocide.
With that embedded as the ethos, the String Quartet of Peace was formed, consisting of four internationally acclaimed musicians: first violinist David Juritz (leader of the London Mozart Players), second violinist Suzanne Martens (previous concert master of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and member of the Rosamunde Quartet), Gareth Lubbe (principal violist of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig, Germany), and Peter Martens (previous principal cellist of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and member of the Amici Quartet).
The Quartet of Peace will feature in concerts around the world, raising funds for music projects for children at risk in war-affected regions; children abandoned by humanity. The project has been fully endorsed by the Desmond Tutu Foundation, the FW de Klerk Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The instruments played by the quartet will be specially made by South-African based, internationally renowned violin maker Brian Lisus. The words Hope, Reconciliation, Freedom and Peace will be inscribed on each of the instruments, symbolising the cornerstones without which our fragile constitution could not have been built. The making of the instruments has been documented via Lisus' blog, which includes high-definition (HD) videos of each stage, as well as informative text relating to his unique style of violin making. He has been assisted in this project by two other violin makers: Sharon Peddie and Vincent Lourens.
The funds raised by the quartet will be channeled through Musequality, a charity established by David Juritz, first violinist of the Quartet of Peace. Musequality was set up in 2007 to take music projects to some of the poorest children in the developing world.
* 15 October: Inaugural concert at the Endler Hall, University of Stellenbosch. This concert will be streamed live via the Internet at www.quartetofpeace.com.
* 16 October: Morning concert in the grounds of Sans Souci High School, Cape Town. This will involve the Quartet of Peace and the Sans Souci High School Choir, Fezeka High School Choir and Crystal House High School Choir.
* 17 November: St Thomas Kirche, Leipzig, Germany
* 5 December: Kings Place, London, England. This concert has already been sold out.
* 7 December: Ljubljana, Slovenia. This concert is being organised by the EU and and talks are under way to collaborate the concert with Festival Ljubljana and the City of Ljubljana
* 8 December: Concert at the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
* 13 and 14 December: L'Atelier de Picasso, Paris France
* 15 December: Strasbourg, France
Negotiations are under way for the quartet to play at the awarding of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, of which Nelson Mandela is a recipient. The Sakharov Prize is named in recognition of the courageous and effective work of Andrei Sakharov on behalf of human rights, to the detriment of his own scientific career and despite the loss of his own personal freedom. The Prize is endowed by contributions from friends of Andrei Sakharov. The Sakharov Prize is intended to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.
Go to the Quartet of Peace website at www.quartetofpeace.com for further information and details of the concerts and quotations from those involved: composer, project organisers and the musicians, as well as contact and banking details and the interesting process of the making of the hand-crafted instruments.
