For Marlise Theron, creating music daily is not the only driving force in her life anymore.
Spending time teaching music to young children in the Cloetesville community has brought her a deeper appreciation for her craft, and also a sense of purpose to share that passion with others less fortunate than herself.
Ms Theron, who hails from Stellenbosch, was awarded the degree of BMus in Music Education at Stellenbosch University’s graduation ceremony for the Faculty of Arts and Social Science last Thursday.
She is also a recipient of the 2018 Konservatorium Stipendium, which is the Music Department’s highest award for its most exceptional student.
Says Ms Theron: “My whole life is steeped in music. I’m really passionate about music and music education.
“I’m very lucky in the sense that my passion is something that I study and it’s something that I unwind with and share with other people.”
Ms Theron, along with other students of the Music Department, participated in the ATKV’s Abbasorg and Rietenbosch Project during the course of their studies.
This project is aimed at educating Grade 2 pupils from the Cloetesville community.
It was started by Danell Muller, a lecturer at SU’s Music Department, who along with Ms Theron, Rozelle Wilken, Jolandi Hanekom, Chandre Windvogel, Rachel Mertens and Jessica October, helped to raise some R60 000 for the Rietenbosch Primary School by means of a music concert.
Says Ms Theron: “Music education is such a rich field. I think it’s a noble art to practice, because you have a huge responsibility to carry on making music and convey it to the next generation.”
Apart from her involvement in the Rietenbosch Project, she also helped to organise and facilitate the Conserve Eisteddfod Endler debut of a 76-year old woman from the Stellenbosch community.
Ms Theron has been accepted to study for an Honours degree in Violin Performance in 2019, and she hopes to continue sharing her passion for music with the greater Stellenbosch community.