November 28, 2014

For a long time the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra has been this city’s lesser-known orchestra, but that’s a thing of the past. They have just celebrated their 80th concert, in collaboration with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. We all know that Confucius was spot-on when he declared that “music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” Pop icon Bono went further by saying: “Music can change the world, because it can change people.” The JSO was, since its inception in 1934, an amateur orchestra, led by their first conductor, Austrian-born Joseph Trauneck. Trauneck had studied composition under the legendary Arnold Schoenberg, and received tuition in conducting from Alexander Zemlinsky in Prague. He’d arrived in South Africa in 1934 after Hitler’s anti-Semitic laws had driven him out of Germany. Following the end of the Trauneck era in 1955, ten... Read More

JSO celebrates 80th birthday with Festival Concerto performance Proud sponsors GTC unveil new brand identity at the auspicious event The Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra (JSO) celebrated its 80th Birthday as the 33-person orchestra performed alongside the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra at the Linder Auditorium this afternoon. In the JSO’s ongoing commitment to developing musical talent in South Africa eight young soloists performed classic concertos with the JSO. In addition, the JSO performed with the Wits trio at the celebration. The trio includes Zanta Hofmeyr and Malcolm Nay both of whom played with the JSO when they were young soloists themselves. “We are proud and very excited to celebrate the 80th birthday of the JSO. For 80 years we have touched and changed lives through music,” says Gerard de Villiers, Chairman of the JSO. “The JSO has been instrumental in the development of over... Read More