“In South Africa, the Karoo is always ‘over the mountains’. Wherever you come from, you must cross high blue mountains by dangerous passes that corkscrew up into the sky and then let you down again on the other side. It is very beautiful. It is very big. It is very dry – except when rivers run in flood and whole towns could be swept away. It is the heartland of a nation and the stone heart of a continent.” – The Time Trackers

Strap up your veldskoene and join VOX Cape Town on another musical journey – this time, to the expansive Karoo in an all-South African programme featuring music by Péter Louis van Dijk, Hans Huyssen, Jan-Hendrik Harley and Denise Onen.

Our musical postcard will evoke the rugged landscapes and vibrant heritage of this remarkable region, from the San-inspired rhythms of Péter Louis van Dijk (Horizons and the San Gloria) to the ‘awe, wonder and environmental existentialism’ captured in a new work composed by audio alchemist Denise Onen (Usque ad sidera tellus). We can’t wait to give voice to the first performance of an a cappella choral cycle written by Hans Huyssen (Weggewerp) that incorporates poems by W. E. G. Louw and C. Louis Leipoldt and was inspired by scribblings on the walls of an abandoned Karoo cottage.

Let your senses awaken as we travel down dusty roads and marvel at sparkling night skies. Join us in the morning for moerkoffie and rusks, or in the evening for a glass of muscadel, and be seduced by the timeless whispers of this unforgiving landscape. A pre-concert talk, 45 minutes before each performance, will unpack the music on offer. For this fifth instalment of VOX’s series of ‘New Soundscapes’, immersive concerts designed to expose Cape Town’s audiences to fresh choral sounds, we return to our roots.

VOX Cape Town and John Woodland
Mikyle Adams (organ)
Catherine Stephenson (flute), Ashlin Grobbelaar (cello), Chris Njapha (cello)
Chris Burgess, Laudice Domingo, Amy-Joy Bailey, Ruben Botha (percussion)

Saturday 14 October 2023
TWO PERFORMANCES: 11 AM and 8 PM
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, De Waterkant
R240 | R180 (seniors and students)
Bookings via Quicket: 11 AM and 8 PM

These two performances will also celebrate the publication of The Time Trackers, a children’s book set in the Tankwa Karoo and written by award-winning author Lesley Beake. The proceeds from book sales will support the work of local non-profit organisation Children’s Book Network. Shortly after the morning performance, Lesley will be in conversation with John Woodland to discuss how the book came to be and the important work that CBN does to inspire our young communities to read.