Chairperson of the Tygerberg branch of the South African Society of Music Teachers, Hilda Boonzaaier
The Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition will take place from Sunday September 19 to Thursday September 23 at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre in Parow.
Covid regulations prohibited the competition from being held last year. This year measures will be in place to adhere to Covid regulations. In a first for the competition, auditions were sent in as video recordings and the final will be live streamed on Thursday September 23.
The Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition is organised and presented by the Tygerberg branch of the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT) and was inspired by member Hubert van der Spuy. The first competition took place in 1989.
The mission of the Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition is to offer talented young music students the opportunity to learn from one another in a competition environment and to compete on a national level.
“After we had to cancel the competition last year, we had to think hard and plan well to make the competition Covid friendly,” says chairperson of the Tygerberg branch of the SASMT, Hilda Boonzaaier.
“At first, we decided to present the competition virtually, but soon realised that nothing can beat a live competition. Our decision on Covid-19 friendly auditions were well received and the audition panel was very impressed and satisfied with the good standard of playing. It was apparent that the participants worked hard during last year to better themselves and their playing. Unfortunately, we had to restrict our number of participants even more than in the past. Therefore we are sorry that all applicants could not be accommodated.”
The audition panel decided to allow 52 musicians from around the county to take part in the competition.
“We hope that all participants take the opportunity to even better themselves and practice hard and most of all, enjoy the music,” says Boonzaaier.
Dr Marlene le Roux, co-founder of the Women’s Achievement Network for Disability, and CEO of the Artscape Theatre Centre, was appointed as patron of the Hubert van der Spuy national music competition in 2019.