Samro Overseas Scholarships 2014 Awards

SAMRO's growing "family" of musicians is thrilled to welcome its latest members: the four gifted young finalists in the 2014 SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition for composers, announced this week. This year's scholarships will culminate in a spectacular Concert Evening scheduled to take place at the Wits University Great Hall on Saturday, 30 August 2014. One work by each of the finalists - Kingsley Buitendag (29) and Prince Bulo (27) in the Jazz Music genre and Amy Crankshaw (22) and Antoni Schonken (26) in the Western Art Music category - will be performed live by a selection of South Africa's premier professional jazz and classical musicians.

Each winner will receive a R170 000 scholarship to further his or her studies or attend master classes overseas, while the runners-up will be awarded R40 000 apiece. The merit award winners, Arthur Feder (26) and Paul Morrissey (28) in the Western Art and Jazz Music genres respectively, will each receive R10 000.

The occasion will also mark the launch of a new award for young composers: the Surendran Reddy clazz Award. This special prize has been established by the SAMRO Foundation and Reddy's longtime companion, Heike Asmuss, in honour of the late pianist, teacher, composer and genre-crossing music pioneer, who passed away in 2010 aged just 47. The term "clazz" was devised by Reddy to describe his musical style and his concept of composition and improvisation: a seamless fusion of many different styles of music, including classical, jazz, traditional African, mbaqanga and other types of world music. It is a crossover style that mirrors the kind of society this dynamic music pioneer envisaged. In this spirit, Le Roux says the Foundation hopes the new Surendran Reddy clazz Award will inspire young composers to free their creativity from the confines of genre and style boxes.

Entrance to the Concert Evening at the Wits Great Hall on 30 August 2014 is free, but is by invitation only and seating is limited. To reserve your seat, please call Naseema at (011) 712 8417 or email : az.gro.ormas@fusuy.ameesan. Visit www.samrofoundation.org.za or follow @SAMROFoundation on Twitter or Facebook for more information.

Date: 30 August 2014
Time: 18:00 - 21:00
Venue: Wits Great Hall, Johannesburg
Cost: Free

More info:

Wits Great Hall, Jorissen Street, Bramfontein 2017