The last few months - life as a freelance musician

The last few months I have been living in Jozi working as a freelance musician. It has had its moments and thankfully work has started to pick up in the last few weeks. I have been playing with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Black Tie ensemble. I also made a trip to Cape Town to play with Mike Campbell's Rhythm Orchestra.

A highlight has been playing Timpani in Rossini's Stabat Mater. It was scarey but I held my own. Im so proud of myself. hee. I played it with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and Choir and soloists.
The same weekend that I did that I played for the UNISA National Piano competition in Pretoria (not as a pianist! but in the orchestra that accompanied the concertos of the final round). Olga Rademan, a good friend of mine from UCT was one of the finalists. She played beautifully and I was so proud of her. Here is a picture of her during the rehearsal. Unfortunately I dont have one of her in her performance dress. She looked amazing.

Another highlight was playing Mussorgsky's Pictures At an Exhibition with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. What a fantastic piece of music. I got to play the cymbals and the Tubular bell. The most fun part to play.

This last month I put on a soiree at my house. My mom made Gluhwein, my Dad made butternut soup and I put on a show. I performed solo vibraphone pieces and then I performed some music from my new project The Tholakele Project. I played vibes and sang. Comleladies and Bheshwana two Maskanda guitarists joined me. It was very special to perform for all my friends and family. A very supportive and loving audience. (I will upload photos when I can get my hands on some)

Next week I am playing Takemitsu's Tree line with th JPO. Take a look at the music. Its insane. Ok its not that bad but when I look at it I feel quite lost. I hope I can keep it together in the performance. haha. Fun times.

I played in Mike Campbell's Rhythm Orchestra for the South African Artists for AIDS Awareness concert at the Baxter Theatre. Here is a random pic of my setup.