For Nelson Mandela’s centenary year, the acclaimed American Minnesota Orchestra, in partnership with Classical Movements, will embark on a five-city tour of South Africa during August 2018.
The US Orchestra Tribute to Madiba’s Centenary – “Music for Mandela” will mark the first-ever South African Tour and cultural exchange with a professional US Orchestra in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Soweto and Pretoria.
The question needs to be asked; “How did the Orchestra miss out on appearing in the ONLY Metropolitan area named for Nelson Mandela – the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole?”
Conducted by Minnesota Orchestra Music Director Osmo Vänskä, the tour marks the first-ever visit to South Africa by a professional U.S. orchestra.
A highlight of the tour will be a piece specially commissioned as a tribute to Mandela by Classical Movements. World-acclaimed composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen is writing the tribute, titled Harmonia Ubuntu, which will also feature soprano Goitsemang Oniccah Lehobye.
The piece will be performed at concerts in Minnesota in July, after which Vänskä and the Orchestra will travel to South Africa to perform in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg, as well as at the historic Regina Mundi Roman Catholic Church in Soweto.
Speaking about their reason for travelling to South Africa, Minnesota Orchestra President and CEO Kevin Smith said, “We recently became the first American orchestra to tour Cuba following a 2014 thaw in diplomatic relations. The experience was so uplifting and enlightening for us that we decided to forge similar cultural exchanges with other countries. Our Music Director Osmo Vänskä had performed with the South African National Youth Orchestra in Cape Town and Soweto in 2014, and the moving experience of that event persuaded us to tour South Africa next.”
Said Vänskä, “Music plays a central role in South African culture today, both choral music and a growing orchestral tradition, and we are excited to experience and be part of this movement.”
In 2014, the Minnesota Orchestra won the Best Orchestral Performance Grammy Award. With multiple nominations under their belt, Vänskä and the Orchestra have just received a further nomination for the 2018 Grammys taking place at the end of January. The ensemble is highly acclaimed for its performances on the world’s great stages, with The Times (Richard Morrison, London) referring to the ensemble as “a superstar band with a maestro to match” and The New Yorker (Alex Ross) calling it “the greatest orchestra in the world” following a 2010 performance.
The Minnesota Chorale will join the tour for performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Johannesburg and Soweto, singing beside local Gauteng Choristers and soprano Goitsemang Oniccah Lehobye, mezzo Minette du Toit-Pearce, tenor Siyabonga Maqungo and bass-baritone Njabulo Madlala.
The tour aims to showcase music from South African, American and European musical traditions, and will draw together South African and American performers and a mix of music, offering musical exchanges with student groups and large-scale performances in colleges, city halls and churches.
The musical tribute to Mandela forms part of nearly 50 projects planned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to commemorate the Mandela legacy. The Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Sello Hatang said, “Madiba’s centenary is about helping build a values-based society. Music has over the years played a key role in helping deliver democracy in South Africa. We hope that this initiative will play a role in highlighting the plight of the poor and the marginalized, and thereby build a more equal society.”
Classical Movements President Neeta Helms said, “After working in South Africa since 1994, Classical Movements is very grateful that one of the top orchestras in the United States will make this historic, first-ever tour to South Africa. It is an enormous undertaking and a statement of the importance of Africa and the growth of orchestral music in this most choral of countries. This dynamic and visionary Orchestra is exactly the right musical ambassador to pave the way for others to follow.”
Ticket prices range from R100 to R600 and bookings for Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria concerts can be done through Computicket.
Performances:
- Friday, August 10, 2018, 8 p.m. / City Hall, Cape Town
- Sunday, August 12, 2018, 5 p.m. / City Hall, Durban
- Thursday, August 16, 2018, 7:30 p.m./Aula Theatre, University of Pretoria, Pretoria
- Friday, August 17, 7 p.m. / Regina Mundi Roman Catholic Church, Soweto
- Saturday, August 18, 3 p.m. / City Hall, Johannesburg
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- Decor Handles Spotlights Its Solid Brass Door Handles From Portugal and Italy - 14 November 2026
- PaperTrail Puts a Risk Score on Every Contract With Scout AI - 14 November 2026
- Pay@ Puts Automatic Reconciliation at the Centre of Year-End Collections - 13 November 2026
- Renal Supplies Water Systems Plans Dialysis RO Plants From Tap to Drain - 13 November 2026
- MoreCut Saws in Alrode Welds Bandsaw Blades to the Length Your Saw Needs - 13 November 2026
