In the Summer of 2018 the Minnesota Orchestra is producing a multifaceted celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela.[1]
It started with a July 20 concert entitled “Celebrating Mandela at 100” at its home Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
The next day, July 21, was the free International Day of Music in and near Orchestra Hall with many African and local musicians. That night the Orchestra presented a ticketed concert in the Hall.
On July 31 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the famous South African vocal group, will sing their songs at Orchestra Hall.
August 8 through 18 will find the Orchestra in South Africa for concerts in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Soweto and Johannesburg. This will be the first U.S. professional orchestra to visit the country. The concert in Soweto on August 17 will be recorded and broadcast the same day in Minnesota by Minnesota Public Radio.
Future posts will discuss at least some of these concerts and events. Previous posts have touched on various aspects of Mandela’s life and Barack Obama’s Nelson Mandela Lecture in Johannesburg on July 17, 2018.[2]
As an U.S. and Minnesota citizen and admirer of Mandela and the Orchestra, I am proud that our Orchestra is engaging in such an energetic enterprise.
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[1] Minnesota Orchestra, Program;: Sommerfest 2018 at 22-28,31, 37-41; Ross, Minnesota Orchestra previews South African tour: ‘Music became a weapon against apartheid,’ StarTribune at B1, B6 (July 22, 2018).
[2] Posts to dwkcommentaries.com: Obama: “Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World” (July 19, 2018); Nelson Mandela Was Inspired by Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution (May 18, 2018); Nelson Mandel Makes Connection with Cecil Rhodes (May 20, 2018); Celebrating the Rhodes Scholarships’ Centennial (June 21, 2011).
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