Lead guitarist at première
2005-08-11
ON Friday 19 and Saturday 20 August the Frank Pietersen Music Centre in Paarl will be presenting two concerts to celebrate their 35th birthday this year.
This promises to be a most fantastic and special event. The highlight of this concert will be the composition “A Song to Mandela” which international conductor Alun Francis has composed for the Frank Pietersen Music Centre to honour Nelson Mandela.
One of the big attractions in this performance will be his son Emlyn Francis playing lead guitar. He is a professional guitarist who has performed with famous people like ‘Tina Turner’, ‘Alexander O’ Neil’ and members of ‘Jamiroquai’.
If you walk into the Frank Pietersen Music Centre these days you can’t help but feel excitement in the air. Sounds of children’s voices, orchestral instruments, African drums, a vocal soloist and a jazz band all mingle together while rehearsing for “A Song to Mandela”.
It is an extremely exciting piece of music and all participants are looking forward to performing this work.
The centre’s own youth choir is enlarged by members of the choirs of Courtrai Primary, Ebenezer Primary and Charleston Hill Primary Schools.
For the members of the orchestra the really exciting part of this piece is hearing and watching Emlyn perform on his electric guitar.
The amazing sounds that come from his instrument are a feast to the ear.
Emlyn did not need much persuasion from his father to join him on this trip to South Africa.
Not only is it a chance for him to play for his father’s special composition, but also to see some of this beautiful country.
Alun Francis, his wife Bernadette and Emlyn, who are being accommodated at the Laborie Landgoed, have already done some sightseeing. They have also been shark diving and bunjy jumping.
“These are things I have always wanted to do” said the London-based guitarist with a smile. He has been fascinated with sharks since childhood and the experience of seeing them so close was unforgettable.
The members of the Symphony Orchestra give up a lot of their time to rehearse with conductor Alun Francis who not only works on his special composition but also on arrangements of other well-known orchestral works such as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Marche Slave by Tchaikovsky and Porgy and Bess by Gershwin.
Both concerts are in the Paarl Town Hall and are presented in conjunction with Bellville Rotary. The concert on 19 August starts at 19:30 and the one on 20 August at 19:00.
For reservations and enquiries phone Lindie Jordaan at the Centre on 872-2123/4 or at principal@fpmu siccentre.org.za.
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