The Rhapsody Orchestra will perform its final concert for the season on Saturday 24 October in the Sand du Plessis Theatre.

Classical Contrasts will bring together three works of strongly contrasting character, which give the concert its title.

It opens with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, inspired by Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish coast, in which the sea and its rock columns appear alternately in storm and in calm. This is followed by Viotti’s Violin Concerto No. 23 in G major, a classical-era work of clarity and song, performed by Kefentse Motshabi, who has played in the orchestra’s first violin section for the past three years and steps forward as soloist for this concert.

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The evening closes with Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, drawn from the composer’s Christmas Eve ballet, whose movements range from the dark drama of the battle scene to the delicate magic of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Between them, the three works move from ocean to classical lightness to romantic colour and the programme will end at Christmas. As the fourth and final concert of the 2026 season, Classical Contrasts continues the orchestra’s approach of presenting symphony concerts in a relaxed, welcoming setting – one suited to returning concertgoers and to those attending an orchestral concert for the first time.

The conductor is Heinrich Lategan.

The Rhapsody Orchestra traces its origins to November 2019, when a handful of Bloemfontein musicians began dreaming about starting a small chamber orchestra. The idea was simple: a weekly social opportunity for musicians to play together, grow, keep their skills alive, and enjoy making music between professional performances. The first informal get-togethers took place in February 2020, before the pandemic brought everything to a sudden stop in March of that year. The desire to make music together, however, did not disappear: the musicians were eager to keep playing, and as soon as it became possible, they began meeting again.

The ensemble’s first concert as The Rhapsody Orchestra took place on 21 February 2021 at the Amphitheatre of the Women’s Memorial, with 16 musicians on stage.

The concert will take place at 19:00. Tickets are available on Webtickets, and cost R100 for adults and R50 for pensioners and children.