Last night Kamohelo Tsotetsi, former student of Prof Conroy Cupido, made his debut at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London singing the role of Tullio in Händel's Arminio. Kamohelo, we are immensely proud of you. Bravo!

Last month, Prof. Chris van Rhyn attended the Women at the Piano: 1848-1970 conference at the University of California, Irvine, where he presented a paper on the South African pianist Elsie Hall (1877-1976). Congratulations, Prof. van Rhyn!

Thanks to Beeld and Elretha Britz for this beautiful overview of the first semester of our concert series. Concert dates are listed at humanities.nwu.ac.za/music/concerts, and we share concert information regularly on all our social media platforms. Beeld (Elretha Britz 2023/05/02)

The NWU Guitar Ensemble gathered at Eden Farm (Viljoenskroon) on 11-12 May for their annual camp. The ensemble was hosted by Mr. Bennie van der Westhuizen and his wife Amalia, who is also a member of the group.

Happiest of birthdays to Dr Janelize Morelli, our community music guru. Thank you for everything you do for our students!

We can hardly wait to welcome Emanuil Ivanov to Potchefstroom! His programme consists of works by Scarlatti, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff, as well as his own Theme and Variations. Saturday 10/06/2023, 18:30, Conservatory Hall quicket.co.za/events/209774-…

On 5 June Dr Janelize Morelli is presenting a paper at "The implications of AI for teaching and learning in HE." This symposium is hosted by the NWU Centre for Teaching and Learning.

At yesterday's graduation ceremony on the Potchefstroom campus our very own lecturer, Tammy Aslett, was awarded a PhD in Visual and Performing Arts with Music. Congratulations, Dr Aslett! We are so proud of you!

Andrew Olsen was awarded the Phd in Visual and Performing Arts with Music at Tuesday's graduation ceremony in Potchefstroom. Dr Olsen, we congratulate you on achieving this momentous milestone! Thank you to Prof Chris van Rhyn (promoter) for your guidance and expertise.

Elizna Steenkamp was awarded the PhD in Visual and Performing Arts with music at Tuesday's gaduation ceremony in Potchefstroom. Dr Steenkamp, we congratulate you on this wonderful achievement!

Our new doctors and their proud supervisors after the ceremony. Well done, all!

Prof Liesl van der Merwe's inaugural address took place in the Conservatory Hall on the 14th of June. After a beautiful performance with Trio Joie de Vivre, she delivered an inspiring lecture entitled "A Theory of Joyful Experiences in Dalcroze Eurhythmics".

Free of charge and not to be missed! Please consider donating a non-perishable food item to the School of Music's food bank before the concert.

Prof Tinus Botha attended the 2023 World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia which takes place annually between the 27th of June and the 3rd of July. As part of the event, he gave a solo recital consisting of a selection from Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1.

Voice lecturers, Prof Conroy Cupido, Dr Antoinette Olivier, and Mr Thomas Erlank will be presenting papers at the inaugural SANATS (South Africa Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing) conference. For more information, please visit natsinternationalregion.org/south-africa

It is a great pleasure to officially welcome a distinguished new colleague, Mr Thomas Erlank, to the School of Music. Mr Erlank joins us from the Zürich Opera House, where he was a member of the ensemble since 2020. Thomas, we wish you much happiness and success in your new role!

Trumpeter Samuel Nku (student of Dr Yvonne-Marié Brand) had the incredible opportunity to attend the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival during the holiday season. Samuel was selected for the Festival Orchestra. Sammy, we are proud of you!

It is a joy to welcome Ms Thembinkosi Magagula as a full-time member of staff today. Thembi, we look forward to working with you, and we know that your students will be enriched by your expertise and experience. We wish you a long and happy career at the NWU School of Music!

Ms Thembinkosi Magagula will give several performances with the Dutch National Opera and Ballet in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from the 6thto the 20th of September. Toi toi toi, Thembi – we know that it will be a wonderful success!

Tuesday’s performance of Schwanengesang will be postponed until further notice as Mr Erlank is unwell. Thomas, we wish you a speedy recovery, and look forward to hearing you at a later date!