Samro Overseas Scholarship competition

Music icons past and present honoured in a special concert evening 'composed' by Gerard Sekoto, SAMRO Foundation and SA Post Office

The SAMRO Foundation is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Gerard Sekoto Foundation and the South African Post Office on its annual flagship project for postgraduate music students, the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition. This year's competition, which takes the form of a concert evening at the Wits Great Hall on Saturday, 30 August 2014, will see the compositions of the four finalists - two in the Western Art Music genre and two in the Jazz/Popular Music style - being performed before a live audience. At the end of the evening, the winners of two international scholarships worth R170,000 each will be announced, as well as subsidiary awards including the newly launched Surendran Reddy clazz Award.

The gifted young Western Art Music composers vying for this enticing prize are University of Cape Town Master's student Amy Crankshaw and Antoni Schonken, a PhD candidate at Stellenbosch University (Western Art Music).

In the Jazz/Popular Music section of the competition, the compositions of Grahamstown-based MMus graduate Kingsley Buitendag and University of KwaZulu-Natal Master's degree candidate Prince Bulo (Jazz/Popular Music) will take centre stage.

Life-changing though the occasion will no doubt be for the two young music students who will be declared the winners of the lucrative scholarships, it will be equally momentous from a music heritage point of view. The late Gerard Sekoto, one of South Africa's most highly regarded visual artists, was also a gifted musician - and two of his original compositions will receive their much-anticipated public premiere at the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships concert evening. In a coup for South African arts and culture, Sekoto's works Africa and Igoli will be performed by Johannesburg's Orbit Big Band, arranged by former SAMRO scholarship winner James Bassingthwaighte.

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.

For interview requests, high resolution photos and media queries please contact JT Comms on az.oc.smmoctj@aidem or (011) 788 7631/2

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