A conductor from the Stellenbosch University (SU) symphony orchestra recently won the 5th South African (SA) Conductors’ Competition. Jacobus de Jager was awarded first prize at the competition, which took place at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre in Parrow, Cape Town, on 7 August.
This is according to Shirley Gueller, spokesperson of the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), which hosted the competition.
De Jager is a conductor with the SU Symphony Orchestra, and is currently completing his masters degree in piano performance.
Jacobus de Jager, winner of the 5th South African Conductors’ Competition, is a conductor with the Stellenbosch University Symphony Orchestra and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. He is also currently completing his masters in piano performance. PHOTO: Supplied/Jeffrey Abrahams
“I am immensely proud of Jacobus’ win. He is hard-working, passionate, humble. […] These qualities combined will stand him in good stead for his future career,” said Nina Schumann, De Jager’s piano lecturer at SU.
“It is such an incredible feeling, especially when you’ve put hours and hours of hard work into this craft,” stated De Jager, via written correspondence with MatieMedia.
The ins and outs of the competition
The competition consisted of multiple masterclasses before the various rounds of the competition started, explained De Jager.
The judges were Louis Heyneman, chief executive officer and artistic director of the CPO, Richard Cock, a conductor, Maestro Arjan Tien, CPO’s principal guest conductor, conductor Bernhard Gueller, as well as previous winners of the competition; Chad Hendricks and Brandon Phillips, said Heyneman via written correspondence with MatieMedia.
De Jager, Jason Atherton and Reghardt Kühn were the three conductors who competed in the finals, according to Heyneman.
The competition is of great importance, as it supports not only local talent but music as a whole, said Heyneman.
Jacobus de Jager, winner of the 5th South African Conductors’ Competition, will complete his masters in piano performance at Stellenbosch University before claiming his prize of studying under Maestro Arjan Tien in the Netherlands. PHOTO: Supplied/Jeffrey Abrahams
Second time’s a charm
De Jager also competed in the 4th SA Conductors’ Competition but withdrew in the semi-final round to attend the finals of the Yamaha Gulf FZE scholarship competition, which was taking place at the same time, he explained.
At this year’s competition, each contestant was required to conduct two pieces, explained De Jager. His two pieces were Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, which are “extremely difficult to pull off”, due to their intricacy, he stated.
“But when you get the sound you want out of the orchestra, I can compare that feeling to the feeling of being able to fly,” said Jacobus de Jager, winner of the 5th South African Conductors’ Competition.
De Jager conducted two pieces in the competition, Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.
With his win, De Jager will have the opportunity to study with Maestro Arjan Tien, one of the jurors and masterclass hosts, in the Netherlands, after completing his masters, stated De Jager.
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