The 2024 edition of Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival (SICMF) takes place at Stellenbosch University (SU) music department’s Konservatorium building from Friday 5 to Sunday 14 July.
While the coveted evening concerts of the SICMF attract the lion’s share of public attention, it is the rest of the daily programme that really speaks to the mission and vision of the festival. The festival is after all, a project of the SU department.
Chamber music is the great equaliser, and when a student string quintet comprises, for example, violinists from Stellenbosch and Germany, a violist from Soweto, a cellist from Durban and a double-bass player from Bochabelo, those five students work together closely as equals in an intense programme with international coaches for a period of 10 days, using music as a vehicle for racial integration, social cohesion and, ultimately, community development.
The SICMF has constituted around 90 such student ensembles this year, including pianists, saxophonists and all the instruments of the orchestra. The piano students engage in duet coaching while the others participate in full symphonic rehearsals in the mornings.
After lunch, the full programme of chamber-music activities is open to the public with one-hour student ensemble concerts taking place every day at 13:00 and 17:00, public master classes taking centre stage at 15:00 and the vibrant and interactive “In Conversation with” lecture series at 19:00 just before the evening concert at 20:00.
This year the SICMF will also host a free student composers’ jam session after the evening concert on Wednesday 10 July. The full programme of all the festival’s concerts, master classes and lectures is available at www.sicmf.co.za.
The student concerts, master classes and lectures take place in the Fismer and Janasch halls, and are free of charge for festival pass holders. For daily patrons, tickets at R30 per session are available at the door only. Tickets for the evening concerts in the Endler Hall are available from Webtickets.
