Old Nectar Concerts has hosted 14 concerts in seven months, with their cellar concert venue receiving over 800 guests and 17 musicians who have, performed over 60 different musical compositions, and have raised over R120 000 towards Animal Welfare Society Stellenbosch.
“The original idea was to host one concert a month, but the response to the first few concerts was so positive that we decided to plan a few more,“ said Fiona Grayer, concert curator of Old Nectar Concerts.
Peter Vanderspuy, in addition to his loyal support of Animal Welfare Society Stellenbosch, has been an avid concert-goer at the Stellenbosch University Music Department and supporter of young South African talent.
The history of the relationship between the music students and Old Nectar gardens goes back many years to when Peter's mother, Una Vanderspuy, the creator of the world-renowned gardens outside Stellenbosch, would host soirees and some students lived on the property,” said Fiona.
So in addition to the once a month professional concerts, Old Nectar Concerts has added a Young Artists Series in support of young South African talent.
On Sunday August 28, at 3pm, Old Nectar will host their first vocal young artist, tenor Lulama Taifasi, accompanied by accomplished South African pianist Tertia Visser-Downie.
Lulama is a young, up and coming tenor from the Eastern Cape whose talent was recognised by Maestro Kamal Khan, previous head of the UCT Opera School, South African College of Music.
Lulama attended classes with Hanna and Albie van Schalkwyk, Grant McLachlan, and Italian classes at the Italian School Dante Aligieri, Cape Town.
Apart from concerts at the Italian Consulate in Cape Town and with the Musicumbrella Studio, he has performed in concerts in Montagu and Swellendam.
In 2021 he obtained his Diploma in Music Performance from Trinity College in London with distinction. Later in the same year he joined the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, where he is in the Young Artists Programme.
In May 2022 he sang the role of Fante del Consiglio de Dieci in Verdi’s I due Foscari with Placido Domingo in the leading role.
In July 2022, Lulama reached the finals of the Riccardo Zandonai Competition in Italy against 140 entrants and won the Opera São Paulo Prize, which will take him to Brazil in the future.
For his Old Nectar recital, the programme includes opera arias by Donizetti, Verdi, and Boito, among others and art song by Richard Strauss.
Tickets cost R200, available online from Quicket, and include selected wines from Banhoek’s renowned Oldenburg Wine Estate and finger food at interval.
Student tickets are R50 at the door. Guests are invited to arrive early or stay after the concert to enjoy the tranquility of the Old Nectar gardens.
For more information, visit www.oldnectar.com/concerts, or contact Fiona Grayer on concerts@oldnectar.com
