The vision for the Keiskamma Music Academy is to create the opportunity of a life worth living for the vulnerable rural children of Hamburg and surrounds. The opportunity to learn to play a music instrument has huge long term benefits: together with the new skills students acquire, there is the empowering sense of fulfilment and achievement that comes with the creation of something beautiful.

"The Keiskamma Music Academy was initiated by me, Helen Vosloo in August 2006. I worked in a Finnish Chamber Orchestra some years ago, and upon returning to SA, felt that I would need to play a role to extend the privilege and necessity of a music education to those children who have previously been denied it.

Hamburg is isolated, with few opportunities for the youth. Many social problems such as teenage pregnancies, boredom, unemployment, alcoholism, HIV infection, and school dropout prevail. Unless programmes are developed in the area for the youth, their outlook on life is limited, their options are few, and the chances of them slipping through the cracks and becoming another hopeless statistic are enormous.

The opportunity of a music education offers very tangible employment opportunities for a school leaver: initially as a teaching assistant, and then trainee teacher, enabling him or her to become a fully fledged music teacher. There is a magnitude of opportunities for the countless children’s lives to be touched in the Eastern Cape from having lessons with qualified teachers!

In terms of opportunities this is however only the very beginning: students to become teachers, professional players, administrators, sound engineers, music librarians. Then there is also the aspect of creating meaning and restoration and the proven therapeutic value that music and a music education has."

Helen Vosloo - Music Academy Founder

Achievements

2006: The Keiskamma Music Academy recorder project was launched in August 2006. Lessons for the first year happened in three isolated workshops, reaching about twelve children and five teachers.
2007: The recorder children performed at the unveiling of the Keiskamma “Creation” Altarpiece at the Grahamstown Cathedral at the 2007 National Arts festival. 14 children started having weekly recorder lessons in East London with Linda de Villiers in October 2007.
2008: The children took part in the East London Eisteddfod in May 2008 and won three silver certificates. Seven students passed the trinity Initial Recorder exam, 6 with merit and one with distinction.
Four students travelled to Johannesburg and Pretoria for three benefit Concerts for the Music Academy in November 2008, playing with Italian harpist: Claudia Antonelli.
We moved into our new premises at St Charles Sojola High School at the end of 2008. We value our relationship with the school and have been granted the use of two rooms.
2009: We bought a set of Marimbas and Djembes which further broadens the scope of the Music.
The children received silver and gold certificates at the East London Eisteddfod in May 2009.
They performed at two concerts of the “Baroque and Blue” concert tour in port Alfred and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape in July 2009.
Fifteen children played Trinity College of Music Examinations in November, 10 distinctions and 5 merits. These were the best marks achieved by any school in East London entered into the exams.

2010: We have entered an exciting new time for the Keiskamma Music Academy: Daniel Hutchinson, a Grahamstown based music teacher, harpsichordist, pianist and composer is teaching in Hamburg about two days per week. We also have a fantastic recorder specialist teacher: Senja Barthel, visiting us from Germany for six months.
Daniel has brought new ideas to create synergy between the well known Keiskamma Art Project and the Keiskamma Music Academy. He is exploring the potential of the uhadi bow and marimbas as an accompaniment to recorder ensemble, playing transcriptions of indigenous South African vocal music. I am inspired by this emerging unique sound voice of the Music Academy: enabling the children to also make music outside the strict consigns of the genre: “classical music”. Empowering the children of the area with an ability to create their own new voice by integrating music of their Xhosa for fathers and music of the immigrant for fathers from Germany (to the village of Hamburg). Together with this the opportunity for free improvisation, the skills base of the children is being extended.

We thank all the teachers whom have had an influence on our development: Linda de Villiers, Eva Schäflein, Meike Engebrecht, Christine Geldenhuys, Leslie Stork, Mpumelelo Nuyshman, Dean Flanegan, Daniel Hutchinson, Senja Barthel.

The Keiskamma Music Academy thank their donors:

Sopranino donor (R500 up to R4 999)
Don and Marianne Macrobert
AVI
Desklink Publishing
Nigel Carman
SAMRO

Soprano donor (R5 000 up to R9 999)
Dave and Eileen Thayser

Alto donor (R10 000 up to R24 999)
Tom and Jean Lloyd
Robert Chalmers and Lawrence Yates, UK
Dr. & Mrs Viljoen of Northwards Manor House

Tenor donor (R25 000 up to R49 999)
Oppenheimer Memorial Trust
Yamaha South Africa
National Arts Council

Bass donor (R50 000 up to R99 999)
Anonymous International Donor
Rand Merchant Bank
German Consulate Cape Town
UNISA Music Foundation

Contra bass donor (R100 000 +)
Industrial Development Corporation

NB: We are able to issue tax receipts since the Keiskamma Trust has 18A tax status as a registered NPO.

For more information about the Keiskamma Music Academy, contact Helen Vosloo at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 082 664 1190.