The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s (CPO) Youth Day concert on 15 June features the 16-year-old Mike Zi Ning Wang from Paarl Boys’ High, whom it will accompany on Antonin Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance no 8.”
The concert, sponsored by the City of Cape Town, is conducted by Arjan Tien, who will also direct the “Bartok for Orchestra”, a work in which each section of the orchestra is showcased.
Says Councillor Patricia van der Ross: “As the City we are delighted to be in a position to sponsor this prestigious and unique event ahead of Youth Day 2023. We can never create enough platforms to advance the work of youth.
“The event not only promises authentic youthful voices, but a great showcase for audiences young and old. I want to encourage Capetonians to head out and grab some tickets – this is one that you do not want to miss.”
Young pianist Wang has already won a number of this country’s most prestigious first prizes, such as at the National Youth Festival last year, the Johann Vos Competition and the Pieter Kooij Competition.
At the age of 10 he was the youngest competitor ever to be awarded the overall first prize at the Samro Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition, followed by another first at the Hennie Joubert Competition the following year where he also won three special prizes for his excellent performance.
He has been a soloist with the CPO before, but this is his debut performance with the CPO in a symphony series.
There is a pre-concert talk at 18:45 open to concertgoers and a reception hosted by Friends of Orchestral Music afterwards.
Tickets for the dress rehearsal are on the Quicket website and for the concert at Artscape contact Dial-A-Seat on 021 421 7695 or Computicket.
