MZANSI ORCHESTRA EMBARKS ON NATIONWIDE TOUR

LAUNCH: Ensemble puts birth pangs behind it to chart national charm offensive…

By Len Maseko

Born into controversy last year, the Mzansi Philharmonic Orchestra is celebrating its first anniversary with a bit of fanfare and hype, shrugging initial negative public sentiment which greeted its founding and funding.

A media briefing at the Sanctuary Mandela Hotel in Houghton, Johannesburg, convened on Wednesday by the orchestra’s chief executive Bongani Tembe was rather a low-key affair, unaffected by the controversy that greeted its launch in July last year.

Fuelling the row at the time were revelations that it had received R54-million in government funding, and that it was taking over funding previously reserved for regional orchestras, and questions whether the country could afford another ensemble.

Tembe released the 2022 financial report of the orchestra at the briefing, again staving off earlier governance and transparency murmurings which had been raised since its inception.

According to the 2022 financial report, the R54 million from the National Arts Council (NAC), an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) were funds reportedly accumulated at the NAC over the years. The orchestra is a non-profit entity and receives an annual grant of R21,5 million from the DSAC, part of which is used to fund regional and youth orchestras and various education bodies.

The first instalment of R41 million was received in December 2021. In 2022, 70 percent of this amount was utilised for what the report describes as artistic programmes, including R20 million allocated to regional and youth orchestra activities across the country. To ensure its sustainability, the orchestra says it is in the process of establishing an endowment fund.

In terms of its grant allocations, R20-million was disbursed to 38 existing regional and local orchestras and spent on music development programmes. Each of the country’s three regional orchestras (Cape Philharmonic, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic and the Johannesburg Philharmonic) have been allocated R3.2-million. Previously they were each receiving R10-million.

In terms of an agreement between the orchestra and the NAC, it allows for 25 percent of the government grant to be spent on operational costs, including administration, while the rest has to be spent on “the programs of the [non-profit organisation] as per the business plan.”

Chaired by Justice Lorna Theron, the board has as its other members illustrious personalities such as businesswoman Wendy Luhabe, Professor Muxe Nkondo and Tembe. It has reported a clean audit for its annual financial statements since its inceptions.

The orchestra’s mission is to broaden the orchestral experience of the country, transform the orchestral sector and to brand South Africa positively around the world. It consists of up to 110 non-permanent musicians who are drawn from regional orchestras, universities, and freelance musicians.

Following a successful inaugural national tour last year, the stage is set for the ensemble’s second national tour, which is scheduled to run during Women’s Month from August 10 to 14.

The repertoire to be performed during the tour in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Gqeberha includes an operatic first half, featuring beautiful and dramatic arias followed, after the intermission, by Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 5.

The tour will be led by Marin Alsop, the first woman conductor to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the US, UK, South America and Austria with soloist Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, the award-winning Limpopo-born soprano who is the current BBC Radio 3 New Generation artist, winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World, and Daily Maverick’s Artist of the Year runner up for 2022.

Tembe said: “Our audiences will be delighted to hear that Marin Alsop will return for this year’s tour, following her sensational appearances last year. We are thrilled that the highly accomplished South African dramatic soprano, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, will be our soloist for 2023; Cecilia has a special talent coupled with a warm heart and personality.”

Mzansi Philharmonic Orchestra Concert Itinerary