The much-anticipated programme for the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) 2025 has been launched, and music lovers can look forward to concerts, masterclasses and more as part of the 20th milestone prestigious annual gathering.
The formal evening concerts will take place at the Endler Hall from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 July at 20:00. To celebrate the 20th edition of the festival, a special alumni orchestra has been constituted to perform a once off pre-SICMF concert on Thursday 3 July. Prof Nina Schumann, SICMF artistic director, has produced a magical mix of new and old in the programme, which is guaranteed to excite and captivate beyond expectation.
The SICMF Alumni Symphony Orchestra will comprise past participants from its inception to the present. The programme will include Mahler’s gargantuan and stirring fifth symphony, a new work by Matthijs van Dijk and Gershwin’s “Concerto” in F. The young up-and-coming conductor Jacobus de Jager will be on the podium, with Ian Watson as concertmaster and Leo Gevisser as piano soloist.
The faculty concerts will start on 4 July with reimagined “Baroque”, Max Richter’s ingenious reworking of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” featuring violinist Daniel Rowland as soloist. The evening will end with a smorgasbord of fashion, artistry and festival sparkle choreographed to the music of Ravel’s “Bolero”.
For those whose tastes remain firmly rooted in the classics, Beethoven, Strauss, Shostakovich, Brahms, and Saint-Saëns remain on the menu. However, over the years, the SICMF has deliberately sought to give a platform to a host of more contemporary composers, some which have become known and adored locally as a result of the opportunity afforded them in Stellenbosch.
In this category, patrons can look forward to works by the likes of Kapustin, Macky and Widmann. Olli Mustonen will be added to these ranks and those who enjoyed the SICMF All-Stars rendition of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” in 2019, should not miss the concert on 10 July.
The featured composer this year is the internationally acclaimed New York based jazz pianist Kevin Harris, whose specially commissioned work Resonance will be world-premiered on 8 July. The piece is a contemporary symphonic reflection through the courageous lens of Steve Biko, based on the written black consciousness works of the anti-apartheid activist.
Throughout the festival, the SICMF faculty will coach, present public master classes and engage with the 300-plus student participants throughout the day. Additional student concerts will also be held daily at 13:00 and 17:00.
Much loved regular festival artists include amongst others Nicholas Dautricourt, Andrej Baranov, Suzanne Martens and Farida Bacharova (violin), Xandi van Dijk (viola), Maja Bogdanovic and David Cohen (cello), Ekaterina Kornishina (flute), Dwight Parry (oboe), YaoGuang Zhai (clarinet), Marco Silva (trumpet), Jauvon Gilliam (percussion) and Emanuil Ivanov (piano). New artists include Jose Garcia Gutierrez (French horn); Zoran Markovic (double bass); Bram van Sambeek (bassoon) and violist Daniel Austrich.
The SICMF will conclude with four orchestral concerts, three at the Endler Hall and one at the community hall in Khayamandi.
• For the full programme and more details, visit www.sicmf.co.za. Tickets can be bought online through Webtickets.
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