The tour was supposed to be led by Marin Alsop, one of the first women conductor to head a major orchestra in several countries. Unfortunately due to ill health Alsop will be unable to attend, however Joseph Young from the U.S, said to be one of the most gifted conductors of his generation will take her place, Young said to News24: "Marin Alsop has been my mentor for over fifteen years, and it is my honour to step in for her and conduct Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra's 2023 South African tour. I look forward to working with the Orchestra again and to meeting new audiences in your beautiful country."
Accompanying will be soprano soloist and Limpopo-born Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, a BBC Radio 3 New Generation artist, winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World competition and Daily Maverick's Artist of the Year runner-up for 2022.
The tour repertoire includes an operatic collection of dramatic arias followed by Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 5. This work, which is just over 120 years old, has had a few pop-culture moments since it was composed. Notably it featured at Robert Kennedy's funeral service in 1968 (conducted by Leonard Bernstein), and then appeared in the 1971 film Death in Venice, and, more recently, it features in the controversial 2022 film Tár.
The upcoming performances in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town follow the orchestra’s successful inaugural tour that took place in December 2022.
Chairperson of the Mzansi Philharmonic Orchestra, Justice Leona Theron, says that since the orchestra's inception it has rapidly gained a reputation for diversity, showcasing music's ability to bring together people of all genders, races, ages and classes.
Launched as part of an initiative by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to broaden South Africa's orchestral experience, the orchestra consists of up to 110 non-permanent musicians who are drawn from regional orchestras, universities, and freelance musicians. The Mzansi Philharmonic is the equivalent of the Springboks in the classical music world, and the orchestra is also South Africa's biggest, where its members unite for a season each time.
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