The Gauteng Guitar Quartet (GGQ), formed in 2024 and comprising four of South Africa’s leading performing classical guitarists, will be performing in Bloemfontein this evening.

Dillon Davie, Ryan Kirsten, Jonathan Moolman, and Nathalie Roué bring a wealth of experience to the stage of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Odeion Auditorium.

Internationally, guitar quartets are well established as a favourite of concert-going audiences, but the GGQ are the only performing quartet of this type in South Africa.

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“Breakfast Around the Sun” explores new music for the quartet, along with new arrangements of older, familiar pieces. They will also feature two pieces by American composer John Asmuth, “Fools Rushing In” and “Breakfast Around the Sun,” as well as his arrangement of Antonio Ruiz-Pipo’s “Cancion y Danza”. “The Loose Canon” is a fun and virtuosic cross-genre romp through Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” one of the most famous pieces in music history.

The programme is anchored by the landmark piece by Roland Dyens, the five-movement suite “Hamsa,” which features just about every sound and mood that the four guitars can conjure up.

Davie is a versatile musician specialising in fretted instruments, and based in Johannesburg. He holds a Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree, majoring in classical guitar and contemporary composition from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where he studied with guitarists Reza Khota and Michal George.

Moolman studied at the University of Pretoria (UP), where he completed a master’s degree in guitar performance (2010) with Abri Jordaan. He has also received qualifications in guitar performance from Trinity College London, and a teacher’s licentiate from the University of South Africa (Unisa).

Kirsten studied classical guitar at the Pretoria Boys High School under Abri Jordaan from 2007 to 2011 and pursued guitar performance at the UP under the same instructor, attaining a Master of Music (MMus) qualification. His accomplishments include recording the Vivaldi Guitar Concerto with the Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019.

Roué matriculated at the Pro Arte Alphen Park. She continued her music studies at the Conservatoire National de Versailles in France. She was awarded a four-year scholarship to study classical guitar under the tutelage of Christian Chanel, and cello under Barbara Marcinkowska.

Nathalie focused on classical guitar as a first instrument and specialised in chamber music and orchestra as a cellist. She attained a Doctor of Music (DMus) degree from the UP in 2024. She plays a guitar by Antoine Pappalardo (France), Jonathan and Ryan play guitars by Hans van den Berg (South Africa), and Dillon plays a guitar by Colin Cleveland (South Africa).

The GGQ will be on stage on Thursday 8 October at 19:00. Tickets, with prices ranging from R30 to R120, are available on quicket.co.za.