“In April 2006 it will be ten years since the first human rights violations hearings took place in East London. It seemed the perfect time to compose and produce a Cantata capturing the South African spirit as it manifested during the Truth Commission hearings.” says Annebelle Schreuders, director of the Spier Arts Summer Season.

Philip Miller, the composer and director of The TRC Cantata explains, “This was a unique process that I feel we need to keep alive. We need to celebrate this extraordinary process and memorialise it.”

A cantata is usually styled around choral work and in structure based on a piece of lyrical or epic poetry with arias, solos, duets and choir pieces. Rather than epic poetry, the TRC Cantata is styled around exerts from testimonies from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, which do not necessarily form a narrative but rather poignant representations of an emotive institution. The memories from interpreters, briefer, councillors and lawyers are juxtaposed with uncomfortable accounts from torturers, soldiers and perpetrators, which are drawn together by narrative from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The text will also include the oath that all people who testified at the TRC recited, African hymns and the names of the victims of Apartheid.


Two string players from Buskaid Soweto String Project and the Sontonga Quartet will perform extracts from the work together with soloist Anne Masina. Angie Kapelianis,
SABC News Senior Journalist, will talk about her experiences of collating the TRC testimonies into a CD compilation for the SABC and Phillip Miller and director Janice Honeyman will discuss thoughts on the final production planned for 16 December 2006.

Philip Miller has worked with some of the most innovative filmmakers to emerge from South Africa, including the acclaimed and award –winning drama TV series Yizo Yizo, directed by Oscar nominee, Angus Gibson and Teboho Mahlatsi. He also composed the featurefilm soundtracks to Ian Gabriel’s Forgiveness, Teddy Mattera’s Max and Mona and Revel Fox’s The Flyer which have been shown at many international film festivals, including The London International Film Festival, The Toronto Film Festival and Fespaco.

Miller has worked with a wide range of video artists in South Africa, including William Kentridge, Jo Ractliffe, Georgia Papageorge and Clive Van den Berg. In particular, he has collaborated extensively with the internationally acclaimed artist, William Kentridge, exhibiting at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum, in New York, and the Serpentine Gallery and Tate Modern in London. Recently, 9 Drawings for Projection which premiered at the Spier Arts Summer Season 2005/6 was performed in concert at the Barbican Centre, London as well as Central Park, and The Celebrate Brooklyn Festival in New York.
In 2005, Miller, together with Kentridge, was commissioned to compose music for a multimedia installation called The Black Box for the Guggenheim Museum.

The TRC Cantata will be presented on the River Deck on the Spier Wine Estate on 29 March 2006 at 20h00. Bookings can be made through the Box Office at
021 809 1111, and for further information log onto www.spierarts.org.za.

The Spier Arts Summer Season is a non-profit, financially independent cultural project. It was established in 1996 to administer funds raised from the corporate, private and government sectors to present cultural events. Its objectives include delivering excellence and innovation in the arts, showcasing, promoting and developing emerging South African talent, providing opportunities for collaboration with international artists and building new audiences.

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TEL : 021 886 4900
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