Emma Farquharson & Lara Kirsten Live at MiTH

9pm – Emma Farquharson and Lara Kirsten

About Emma Farquharson

Emma Farquharson, age 23, holds two degrees with Distinction in Music: a BA (Second Major in Drama), and BA Honours. Reaching Fulbright semi-finals, she hopes to do a Masters in Operatic Vocal Performance, and work in a studio programme, overseas.

She came to Rhodes as a light, lyric soprano, and has been fascinated by her voice’s progression to Dramatic Soprano, Deutsche Soubrette, and light lyric coloratura. Her highest note to date is an Eb7, right at the end of the piano.

Throughout her University Career, Emma has been the recipient of multiple music scholarships, most notably an Ada & Bertie Levenstein Bursary, and SAMRO Bursary. She has also been awarded external scholarships, and is a member and scholarship winner of the Golden Key International Honours Society.

She competed in the Mavis Hill Music Competition as a first year, and won Second Place in 2017. She placed third in the National Grahamstown Music Competition 2017, a position she is proud of.

She has staged two succesful shows at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival: Opera Found (2017 – Standard Bank Encore Ovation Award) and A Feather on the Breath of God (2018 – Arena Production). On the 4th December, she and her pianist, Garreth Robertson, performed Opera Found in Sue Gordon’s Concerts At The Castle Series, in Port Alfred. Emma then took the show to her hometown of Hilton, Kwa-Zulu Natal, in early January 2018. A Feather on the Breath of God is a concert she considers to be the most important of her young career, as it showcased the works of ten female Western Art Music composers, spanning 700 years. She was honoured to work with American-born Cellist, Caleb Vaughn-Jones, as well as local pianist Nina van Schoor.

Other notable performances include her 2016 performance of “Giunse alfin il momento” at the 2016 Symphony Orchestra Gala Concert, and her 2018 duet of Lakme’s Flower duet, with the same orchestra, and fellow soprano Anelisa Kelemi. Both gala concerts were conducted by David Scarr.

Emma currently resides in Hilton, KZN, where she is working on a number of concerts with musicians in her area, as well as in Durban. She is now furthering her vocal development with retired opera singer, Margaret Clay-Bowen, training as a Spinto Soprano.

About Lara Kirsten:

Lara Kirsten is a pianist and performance poet. After completing her high school career at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg in 1997, Lara received her BMus and BMus Honours degrees, both cum laude at the University of Pretoria. Joseph Stanford and Wessel van Wyk were her mentors in solo piano and chamber music respectively. In 1999 she was awarded a SAMRO bursary for undergraduate students. In 2002 she received her chamber music licentiate from UNISA. She was appointed junior lecturer at the University of Pretoria where she taught piano from 2003 to 2005.

For the past decade Lara has been active as both a solo and chamber musician performing with musicians such as soprano Linda van Coppenhagen, tenor Sandile Mabaso, clarinetist Morné van Heerden and cellists Wessel Beukes and Francois le Roux. She often performs her poetry within her music recitals. She has performed in venues such as the Sandton Theater on the Square, the Baxter concert hall in Cape Town, the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, the Guy Butler Theater in Grahamstown and the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg.

Lara has performed at the Wakkerstroom Music Festival, the McGregor Poetry Festival, the AfrikaBurn Festival in the Tankwa Karoo, the Woordfees in Stellenbosch, the Hilton Arts Festival, the Michaelhouse Music Festival in KwaZulu-Natal and the Voorkamer Fest in Darling.

For the last six years Lara has been based in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal from where she travels with her concert tours. She also teaches piano from her home. From 2014 to 2018 Lara has been invited to serve as adjudicator for the Pietermaritzburg Eisteddfod of the South African Society of Music Teachers.

Lara’s poetry has been published in the South African Literary Journal New Contrast. In 2008 she became part of the Eastern Cape poet-group, Ecca, who presents readings and publishes collectively each year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 poems by Lara have been selected to feature in the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Anthology.

Lara’s poetry and creative projects can be viewed on her blog at http://laraafrika.blogspot.com/

8pm – Duncan Park

Duncan Park and William Randles will perform a selection of delicate “micro-folk” numbers which are short, sweet, original and traditional. The duo are influenced by the writings of Tolkien and Dostoevsky alike, and the sounds of Appalachian roots music and Celtic folk. Equipped with two guitars, a banjo, a pennywhistle and some shakers, Duncan and Will aim to take the listener on a musical pilgrimage akin to the adventures chronicled in the fairy tales of a bygone era.

7pm Bernard Blouw The Musician and friends, Evan Oosthuizen

Bernard is a local entertainer/musician who can frequently be seen playing in restaurants in PMB and surrounds. Bernard will play some covers with his own twist as well as a few original songs.

Hailing from KZN, Evan Ooshuizen is a vibrant artist who sings original songs as well as covering a few well known and not-so-well known tunes. Evan runs and plays at open mic events and various venues in and around Pietermaritzburg. His genre of music falls into the acoustic/rock category.

ABOUT MiTH: MiTH is located at The Knoll Historic Guest Farm, Knoll Drive, Hilton. Doors open at 6 pm and the music will kick off at 7 pm. Entrance is R40 at the door.

MiTH is a semi-open mic music club. An opportunity for musicians to share the joy of their music with a friendly audience which includes fellow musicians – who have all “been there” too. (Non-musicians welcome too!) Whether you’re a newbie looking for your first opportunity to perform publicly, or a more experienced / mature musician simply looking for people who are as passionate about music as you are – come along and join us!

Bring your own booze. Food and soft drinks are available for sale. Musicians who want to play at MiTH, please contact mithbookings@gmail.com.

DIRECTIONS TO MiTH: Take the N3 to Hilton, take the Hilton turnoff and go South into the Village (away from Hilton College). Travel 5,2km along Hilton Avenue (past two sets of traffic lights and Crossways Pub) and keep going straight as Hilton Avenue turns into Dennis Shepstone Drive. At the 5,2km mark, Knoll Drive will be on your right – the entrance to MiTH is the *second* entrance on your left into The Knoll Historic Guest Farm.