Josh Groban fills Grand Arena with pure imagination
14 Apr 2016
We were promised a special evening, but what we actually got was something of a more spectacular nature. Not only is Josh Groban a famously talented singer, songwriter and musician, he is also genuinely passionate about encouraging budding musicians, and generally just a great guy.
After a hearty welcome from Mr Groban himself, the evening was off to a magically melodic start as he opened with Pure Imagination, followed by Try To Remember and What I Did For Love from his latest album Stages.
Lighting the way for young talent
In between songs we had the pleasure of getting to know the man behind the voice – Groban provided some insight into his childhood and how he first discovered his vocal talent which was thanks to the keen ear of his music teacher during choir practice. He is extremely passionate about educating children about the arts and believes it gives them insight and wisdom of a creative and imaginative nature. Groban maintains his enthusiasm for arts education through his Find Your Light Foundation which is dedicated to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to experience a quality arts education.
Groban has a bit of a reputation for incorporating local talent into his shows when on tour, so it came as no surprise when he welcomed 17-year-old Shaw Komori on stage. The SACS High School trumpet-player displayed enormous aptitude and finesse during his solo performance of Finian’s Rainbow. Well done, Shaw!
Next to join Groban on stage was locally-born Pumeza Matshikiza. Together they performed a beautifully emotive rendition of All I Ask Of You – definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Matshikiza then went on to perform a solo and succeeded in blowing the audience away with her powerful voice. Groban welcomed her back on stage later in the show to perform If I Loved You.
A musically inspiring performance
With the stage adorned with elegant décor, complete with a grand piano, we knew Groban would at some point enchant us with his musical skills. He did indeed, with his song February Sun, the only song he played on the piano for the evening.
The Cape Town Youth Choir joined the singer on stage for his next song, Anthem, from the musical Chess. The musician’s love of theatre was first ignited when he performed Anthem during his school-going years. Groban was excited to announce that he will be making his first debut in Broadway a little bit later this year!
As the evening began drawing to a close, we enjoyed this angelic voice performing Children Will Listen, Le Temps Des Cathédrales (from Notre-Dame De Paris or The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), Unusual Way (which, surprisingly, was originally performed by Antonio Banderas), Bring Him Home and You'll Never Walk Alone.
The highlight of the evening for me was all-time favourite, award-winning You Raise Me Up – seeing and hearing Groban perform this classic was something I will most likely never forget. After he received a standing ovation for this song, he was inclined to perform one more song for the longing crowd. He chose one of his favourites - Over The Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.
Staying true to his ethos of utilising and promoting local talent, Groban paid tribute to the amazingly talented Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra who went the extra mile in showing off their fantastic capacity to dazzle the audience and complement Mr Josh Groban.
