The event has been organised by Avril Kinsey through Friends of the Cape Town Academy of Music.
There will be more than 13 events during the course of the festival, including a Gala VIP Wine-tasting Celebrity Concert, master classes, informal and formal concerts as well as the semi-finals and finals of the 2nd Avril Kinsey Classical Guitar competition with more than R80 000 worth of prizes.
Kinsey, a classical guitarist who accompanied the late Luciano Pavarotti with the CPO, has inspired many young musicians and has now realised her dream of presenting this festival, which celebrates the classical guitar.
Four international artists have flown in to be part of the festival: Dr Gregory Newton and David Grimes from the US. Newton is president of the American Guitar Society, director of the AGS International Concert Series and a member of the board of directors of the Guitar Foundation of America. Grimes is past president of the Guitar Foundation of America and is reviews editor for the journal Soundboard.
From the Netherlands, Stefan Gerritsen (guitar) and Matthijs Koene (pan flute) known as Verso Duo, will be joining our South African first ladies of guitar, Tessa Ziegler and Avril Kinsey. Additionally locally renowned Flamenco guitarist Saudiq Khan whose compositions were included in the sound track of the movie Confessions of a Gambler, will perform during the weekend.
Three concerts featuring the cream of these visiting musicians will offer the public a chance to enjoy some magnificent music in this wonderful setting.
The opening night, a celebrity VIP wine-tasting concert in the estate's wine sales area, on Friday, 1 July, offers wine tasting and the gala concert with the four international artists, Dr Gregory Newton and David Grimes from America with Verso Duo on pan flute & guitar from the Netherlands and Tessa Ziegler and Avril Kinsey. (Limited tickets are available and booking through Computicket is essential).
The two closing concerts on Sunday, 3 July, will feature Verso Duo and flamenco guitarist Saudiq Khan, respectively.
Visitors to the festival will have a jam-packed weekend with master classes by our visiting international and top South African performers, a beginner's guitar workshop (covering a taste of flamenco, jazz and folk styles), and a workshop on how to build a guitar by Marc Mainguard. Avril Kinsey presents the South African première of her talk "320 Guitar Pieces by 72 South African Composers" on Saturday, 2 July, at 12pm. The talk was first given at the Royal Academy of Music in 2010.
Our young talent gets the opportunity to show their mettle in two informal lunchtime performances on Saturday and Sunday whilst the competition semi-finals take place on Friday and the finals on Saturday.
The competition has attracted more than 85 young classical guitarists and includes some recently discovered young township performers. The semi-finals are from 9am on Friday, 1 July, and the finals will take place on the late afternoon of Saturday, 2 July, followed by the prize-giving at 9.30pm at a festive Simon's supper.
Besides the music events visitors to the Estate can enjoy two excellent restaurants, three museums, the historic homestead and the gardens.
For more information on the festival, go to: www.capetownguitarfestival.com or call Ann Coltham on +27 (0)82 414 4771.
Special weekend packages are available (book through Computicket)
VIP weekend Pass: R350 for all 13 events including the gala concert and wine tasting.
General weekend pass: R150 covers everything, except the three formal concerts.
Individual events prices:
Gala concert, 1 July: R200 per person
Verso Duo concert, 3 July: R100 per person
Saudiq Khan, 3 July: R100 per person
Booking through Computicket. Information on workshops, the competition and the informal concerts will be available at the festival information desk in Simon's Conference Hall.
Workshops and master classes: (Marc Maingard/Avril Kinsey) R50 per person
Competition semi-finals and finals: R20 per person
Informal concerts: free.
