John Richards

Bass Guiterist 

“After attending numerous rock concerts at the age of 14, I was mesmerised by the way the electric bass got the floor to vibrate. In 1969, I started a schoolboy rock ’n roll band and learned basic music theory and to read music under the tutorship of banjo player, Charlie McCrow. Unfortunately, this was too tedious for a 15-year-old rock ‘n roller and, as there was not much published music of what we liked, it was down to playing by ear.

After my mandatory stint in the army, I continued playing in bands, doing all sorts of dance and pop music for small clubs, parties, weddings etc.

We moved to George in 1992 and joined the Arts Theatre, operating lights and sound for a variety of productions. After seeing a Shadows tribute show at the theatre, the thrill of my instrument hit me again and in 2013, I bought a bass and started playing again. I gigged with fellow theatre members and later joined the 50-Plus Music Club.

In 2018, after a 50-Plus concert, Norman invited me to join the orchestra. I agreed, only to quickly discover that I was waaay out of my depth. But, thanks to ongoing lessons with Elsabe and her guidance and encouragement, I am now thoroughly enjoying the discipline of playing and reading music again!”

Iain

“I was born in London in 1950. The Piano was the first instrument that I learned to play, while I was still at school in England.
I have been playing percussion instruments with CM!O since 2018, including Tambourine, Triangle, Timpani, Sleigh Bells, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Congas, Shakers, Wood Blocks, Whistle and some other ones, for different sound effects, ie Slapstick, Coconut Shells and Sandpaper noises!  

Armand loves music and, except for the cello and contrabass, also plays the bass guitar and ukulele when he has time.

I started taking piano lessons at the age of 9 or 10 and completed a few exams to reach ABRSM Grade V Piano in 1962. Due to moving around to different places in the UĶ, I didn’t have any more piano lessons until many years later.
I recently took piano lessons with Ann Carroll (who also plays in the CM! Orchestra) from 2018 to 2020.

Music has always played a big part in my family life. My mother was an accomplished pianist, as was her father, who was also an organist at St.Marys Redcliff Cathedral, in Bristol, in the UK.
My father’s family lived in a small fishing village in the North of Scotland, and I remember folks playing bagpipes, accordions and fiddles; my Scottish grandmother often sang folk songs to me, in Gaelic, when we visited their small cottage during holidays.

I left school in 1968 and spent all of my working years in various seagoing capacities and finally retired in 2016. Life at sea in those days was long before the Internet was available, so music was one of our main forms of relaxation.

In 1991, Pam and I got married. Pam had learned to play violin when she was at school in Somerset, UK. We had both been married before, Pam for 18 years and myself for 12 years. During her first marriage, Pam was not permitted to play the violin, as her first husband didn’t like the sound of the instrument.

I supported Pam to rekindle her interest in playing the violin and she then passed her ABRSM Grade VIII Violin exam in 2018. Pam joined the CM!O soon after this.

Later, Elsabe and Norman invited me to come and play some percussion instruments with the Orchestra at the concerts if I would like to. I said “Yes”, I would love to!

I am very grateful to Elsabe and Norman for giving me the opportunity to become a member of CM! To be part of the Percussion Department, with three very talented ladies, Esmé, Lasya and Ronel (who also sing in the CM! Choir) means a lot to me.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Elsabe, Norman, Kevi and other CM! members for all their musical help from time to time. There are so many talented musicians in the CM! Orchestra and Choir. I feel both honoured and privileged to be a member of the CM! Family. Music brings people together and it’s so much fun!

Armand Vermaak

One of our youngest members, and also the smallest who happens to be playing the biggest instrument, 13 – almost 14 – year old, is Armand Vermaak.

After his first Christmas concert with CM!O (during which he played the recorder), Armand told his mother that he wanted to learn to play the cello. One of our orchestra cellists, Rona, lent him one, and the following year he started taking lessons with Elria. He is still currently taking lessons, and is almost finished with his grade 4. Armand has been playing cello for around 3 years now.  

Armand loves music and, except for the cello and contrabass, also plays the bass guitar and ukulele when he has time.

Dandré, Armand’s older brother, played the contrabass in the orchestra until just before our Christmas series last year, after which Armand took over from him. Contrabass is what he would actually like to pursue, but because he enjoys the cello so much, and there is no one in the area who can give him contrabass lessons, he is continuing with cello lessons for the meantime. He enjoys the music and playing in the orchestra so much! His mother, Hannah – who also plays in the orchestra – often says “If there was a CM!O for me when I was younger, I would never have stopped playing!”

We are so privileged to have this platform where even young children can participate, learning the art of ensemble playing, experiencing the comradery of playing with a mixed group of musicians, and being under the leadership of incredible musicians and teachers such as Norman and Elsabe, who consider each individual person and their musical abilities when planning and orchestrating the music pieces that we play.

Armand continues to play an integral role in this group we call our musical family, and we look forward to being part of his ongoing musical journey! 

David Oliver

Violinist

“It was in my matric year that my maternal grandmother presented me with an old violin which belonged to my late grandfather, a fiddler himself.  It had been in storage in a shed in her backyard ever since his passing 16 years prior.  My interest was piqued, so I took it to a luthier for much needed repairs. 

The local New Apostolic Church (NAC), where I was a member, had a small ensemble; the leader, himself a violinist, became my first violin teacher, and after eight months of tuition with him I went to another violin teacher in a neighboring NAC Congregation for further lessons. 

Four years into my lessons I enrolled as a part-time student at UCT College of Music where Dr Virgillo Gerizim was my lecturer, and under his tuition I successfully completed the grade five Royal School of Music Exams. 

As time elapsed, I joined a chamber orchestra as a violinist under the baton of Max Peyer, who was also a successful luthier.  After two years he asked me to play the viola instead, as a violist was needed in the orchestra.  It was thus as a viola player that I concluded my stint in the orchestra.  

It was in around 1976 that I was presented with the violin which is currently my prized instrument.  A gentleman who came across my path where I was employed at the time heard from a colleague that I played the violin.  He presented me with two violins that he had, requesting that I choose one.  The violin I chose he had purchased in 1917 as a second-hand violin.  I am forever grateful to him for his kindness!  

During the years that followed I continued my violin studies under Dr Herman Ruiz, a Chilean violinist who played in the Cape Town City Orchestra.  

As a part-time B. ADMIN degree student at UWC, I joined the university orchestra as a violist.  During this period I completed my Grade Six UNISA practical music exams under the tutorship of Mr Hadley Duminy, himself the concertmaster of the university orchestra.  During 1990, the orchestra accompanied the Calvin Protestant Church Choir in their celebratory rendition of a cantata in the City Hall of Cape Town, commemorating their 40th anniversary.

In the subsequent years I neglected serious on-going studies with experienced violin teachers, though I continued to play the violin in the church which I attended, and it was only after I retired from work in 2017 that I decided to focus seriously once again on formal violin tuition.  I found a teacher, Mr Charles Anyster, with whom I studied until I relocated to George in 2018.  

It was here in George, when attending a school concert during 2019, that I was able to hear Carpe Musicam! perform (up until that occasion I had no knowledge of the existence of the orchestra).  

I felt very driven to approach its leader, Mr Norman Carless, with my request to join the orchestra!  And the rest is history.  

It is such a privilege and honour to be a member of the Carpe Musicam! family where I am currently one of the second violinists.  I am currently also a student of the orchestra’s principal violinist, Cherith Bain. 

I have so much appreciation for the untiring efforts of Elsabe and Norman who are the driving force behind this community orchestra.  They create a space and an opportunity for each musician to thrive and develop and just enjoy making music with fellow musicians.”

I played for many different pipe bands through the years and was fortunate to win a number of S.A. drumcorps titles, to train a number of young drummers who went on to the highest local and international standards, to run the drum corps of the pipe bands at the Durban Tattoo for many years and to compete internationally at a number of overseas contests, as well as 3 times at the World Pipe Band Championships. I also had the privilege of getting mentored and assistance from a number of World champion drummers at various points in this journey.

The highlight of my overseas trips was a Military Tattoo in Red Square, Moscow, where as part of a Commonwealth contingent, we were the first foreign troops to ever march through the gates of the Kremlin.

In 2017 I was asked by a piper to do a few numbers with a local orchestra, which I agreed to. Norman called me to discuss, and asked if I could play the kit as well? My response was that I hadn’t played kit for 35 years, and that I didn’t have a kit. Unfazed, he called me the next day to tell me the orchestra had bought a kit, and I was thus recruited into the ranks of CM!O! 

Getting back into playing was easier than I thought, due to the absolute acceptance and kindness of Norman, Elsabe and all the musicians at the time, and I have never looked back. It has been my musical home since then, and I have been privileged to be part of the growth of this incredible organisation. The orchestra is a delightful place for musicians of any calibre to live out your musical ambitions in a relaxed, friendly and fun atmosphere, and watching the growth in size and quality has been a wonderful experience.”

We are all so grateful to have the skill and musicianship that Kevi brings to keeping us all in time! As Norman often reminds us, “Kevi is not just a drummer, Kevi is an amazing musician who happens to play the drums!” And boy, does he play them well!!

Cherith Bain-van Vuuren

The beginning: 

My first musical memory is of skipping around a lounge shaking a tambourine, singing nursery rhymes at a friendly lady’s home, together with a few other young children, feeling very happy.  My Mom enrolled me in a little music group when I was about 4 years old, and I remember enjoying those classes very much. 

One of my Mom’s best friends was a Music Teacher called Aunty Jessie, who lived a few houses  down in our road.  She invited me to join her Christmas productions; singing and playing various percussion instruments.  Jessie’s daughters played the violin and cello and I enjoyed watching them play.  I was six years old when I started violin lessons, going to the College of Music in Cape Town and learning the Suzuki Method together with a few other children. 

My Mom encouraged me to practice every day. One day I had to miss watching a ‘Postman Pat’ episode so that I could get my practice in for the day.  I was terribly upset about this but my Mom explained how important it was to practice.  At  8 years old I started piano lessons and when I turned 13 I became one of the pianists for the choir at The Glen Methodist church, accompanying them for 7 years.  My Mom (Carol) sang in the choir and I always loved listening to the sound of her voice.  

Music was and is always a big part of my life.  In Junior School I sang in the school choir and performed in assemblies whilst also helping out with the music for school plays.  At 13 I joined the Northern Transvaal Youth Orchestra (under the baton of Hester Wohlitz).  I really loved being a part of this Orchestra.  My parents were always so supportive.  They were actively involved, cooking food for the orchestra camps while Dad also served on the Orchestra Committee.  I also have happy memories of attending the National Youth Orchestra Course a few times in my High School years, entering Eistedfodds and working my way up the graded exams for both violin and piano.

Developing my love for music: 

After completing matric in Pretoria, I spent a year at St. Michael’s Collegiate in Hobart, Australia, on a Rotary Exchange Student Scholarship.  There I was a part of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and had great fun making music with other students.  I had violin lessons with Mr. Con Lavroff during this year.  He was a brilliant concert violinist and a very encouraging teacher, however, lessons were not free… in exchange for lessons, I had to wait tables at his Thai restaurant.  Every shift would equal a lesson.  I tried to then help a few times a week so that I could get a lot of lessons!  Con taught me how to sight-read and we would play chamber music a few times a week, together with other musicians.  During the year, we worked through many of the Beethoven, Mozart and Hadyn trios and quartets.  I am grateful to Con – he cemented my love for the violin as an instrument and my love for chamber music.  Towards the end of my year in Tasmania, when he put a new piece of music in front of me, the more black notes I saw on the page the more excited I got.  The whole process instilled a love for playing together with other musicians.   

Teaching : 

 At 18, while in Tasmania, I started teaching violin for the first time.  My first student was my next door neighbour, Ollie.  He was a delighful boy and I loved teaching him.  Since then, I have been fortunate to have worked in some great schools in the country, teaching violin and piano at Westerford High, St. Alban’s College, Beaulieu College, Cornwall Hill College, Kyalami Preparatory School and Reddam House Constantia, sharing my love of music with others.  

Getting the qualifications: 

On returning to South Africa, I enrolled at Pretoria University and completed my Bachelor of Music Degree with Professor Alan Solomon.  During the B. Mus Degree I took piano lessons with Wessel van Wyk (piano was my second instrument).  I was a part of the Tukkies University Orchestra as well as the Arts Nova Consort (Choir and string ensemble) with Lance Phillip.  We performed 14th and 15th century and Baroque music.   

After completing my B.Mus, I enrolled with UNISA to do my Teacher’s Licentiate for violin.  A few years later I also did my Performer’s Licentiate through UNISA, while taking lessons with Quentin Crida in Cape Town.  

Then Prof Jack de Wet (aged 88) agreed to teach me.  I completed my LTCL Trinity degree with Professor Jack de Wet in Cape Town.  I was very fortunate to be one of his last students.  I learned so much from him and he totally changed my technique and helped me improve my quality of sound.  He said that “One has to have strong fingers to play well”, and that technique was everything! It was as if I had to re-learn playing the violin…  

Giving back: 

In  Cape town I played in Dr. Steven van der Merwe’s orchestra, performing in the southern suburbs.  With Bill Robson (a baroque harpsichord maker) and his baroque ensemble groups we performed in Noordhoek.  During my years in Cape Town, I enjoyed being involved in a few productions/plays at the Masque Theatre.  Being involved in Church music has always been a very big part of my life, and I was one of the pianists at the Fish Hoek Methodist Church for 10 years where I started a Concert series at the church called ‘Classics @ 3’.  Together with other lovely Capetonian musicians we presented quite a few concerts, where money was raised for various charities.  During the same time, at St. Peter’s Church (now called Grace Church in Noordhoek), we did a few fundraising concerts for their iThemba School.  My husband asked us to go to Common Ground church and there I played the violin and keyboard on several Sundays. 

Moving to the Garden Route…. 

When I told one of my music friends in Cape Town that we are moving to the ”platteland”, her reaction was, “But where will you play????”.  Little did she know about the next and most wonderful time I would have right here in the Garden Route – I am so enjoying being a part of Carpe Musicam Orchestra and serving in our Church’s worship team as a pianist (Sedgefield Christian Church).  I also teach privately from my home, currently having 17 Students.  I love teaching students of all ages. 

I remember shortly after moving here from Cape town, I attended one of the Carpe Musicam concerts.  The concert was great and when I got home, I said to my husband Louis that I would like to be a part of this group of musicians.  The next week I joined at the next rehearsal and have never looked back.  It is so amazing to have such a big group of great musicians who are part of this orchestra right here in our Garden Route.  

I am very appreciative to be a part of Carpe Musicam, and so grateful to Norman for writing such beautiful arrangements.  Carpe Musiciam is like a second family! 

If I were to share some advice, it would be to never give up, and to believe in yourself – the more you play the more experienced you become, and the stonger you are (physically) the better you are able to play.  It is a journey to become a good musician, it does not happen overnight and definitely not instantly – it takes hours and hours of practicing and persevering, but it is so worth it!  

In closing… 

One of Prof De Wet’s favourite sayings was: “To practice less than one and a half hours a day is poor show”.

Christo Becker

“Art or Music?

This was the subject choice we had at the start of standard 6 (grade 8).  I can’t draw, so I chose music.  The school did an aural (listening) test, to be sure potential students weren’t tone deaf and could keep a basic rhythm.  Then a quick interview with the Masters and Ma’am to discuss instrument and dedication (aka willingness to practice). 

They asked me what instrument I wished to play.

And I answered, “French Horn.”

“Why the French Horn?”

“I like the sound.”  

I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about – I didn’t even know what the instrument looked like.  But I kept up the charade.  My mother looked at me quizzically.  She tells the story that when I was very young the PACT orchestra principal was our neighbour, so maybe I remember the sound from him.

In 1991 I started on trumpet, as there were no horns available.

In 1992, we hired a horn from ProArte. 

I finished Matric with music as a subject, playing the French Horn.  I did all the youth orchestras, Northern Transvaal, TED and Nationals were to come later (1997).

Being eligible for varsity, I went to study a BA (Music) at Tukkies.  I completed Royal Schools Grade 7 and 8 in 2000.  On completion of the BA, I continued my studies in education (HED) and did an Honours in Curriculum Design.  All the while playing in orchestras.  The highlight was playing with Eric Rycroft at Tukkies, 2003 and 2004.  After my studies, music took a back seat – if you aren’t in a structured environment, it’s hard to maintain quality and the need to practice.

14 years of silence, 14 years of pain (Guns and Roses )

In 2017, I moved to the Garden Route.  I met a guy named Chris Woodcock at a business marketing event, and we started talking.  A couple of weeks later I took my Horn along to a meeting to demonstrate the need for oiling your instrument, similarly to how your body also needs healthy oils.

Chris laughed at me asking, “So you can play horn?” 

I downplayed as I hadn’t played properly since 2004. 

“Ah, rubbish, you own a horn, you must be able to play, phone Norman and Elsabe.  Join the orchestra.  They’ll sort you out.”  Chris Woodcock 2018.

Thank you Chris.  A structured musical environment.

And so, back in a structured musical environment, I could play again.  For 3 hours every week I get to be part of something else, something truly magical.  Thank you Carpe Musicam!! 

Gratitude and Love. Christo Becker ”

Mia Steenkamp

clarinetists

“A musical journey… for sure!

It started with 6 year old me, daydreaming out of a class window, while listening to the sound of the older kids learning the national anthem.  “Again, from the top!” the teacher shouted.  The melody was being played over and over again, so much so that it stuck with me the whole day.  

As soon as I got home, I dropped my bag next to the couch and rushed to the piano.  I lifted the heavy lid and started messing around with the keys.  My mother came up to me and curiously asked, “What are you up to?”  Excitedly I replied, “Mum, look what I can do!”  And then I started playing the national anthem.

My love for music only grew after that.  My mother soon took me for piano lessons.  In grade 6, at Outeniqua Primary School, I started playing the marimbas.  It was my first time experiencing an ensemble atmosphere.  I was taught a bunch of rules – the need to listen to one another, carefully following your music, adapting, and so much more.  I enjoyed it so much!

It was at the end of grade six that I joined the Carpe Musicam! Youth Orchestra (now known as the CM! Pops band).  I played in the Christmas concert along with the Boutique Band and the CM! choir.  I met so many new people and made so many new friends. 

I went on with piano and clarinet lessons in grade 7, also competing in competitions all year round.  I also joined the senior choir at school, where I mostly played clarinet with them.  

I was then asked by Norman and Elsabe to join the CM! Orchestra, and then later continued playing concerts with the CM! Boutique Band as well.  

At the end of the year I was awarded the Dominique Faber trophy at school – a trophy given to the best musician in the primary school. 

I was then accepted into Outeniqua High School, where I joined their instrumental ensemble.  Later in the year I competed internationally with the ensemble, where we scored an average of 96%.  I also sing in the high school’s choir, and have done many concerts with them throughout the year. 

Through the years I have been blessed to inspire so many, and I hope to continue to do so in the future as well!

“Where words fail, music speaks” – Hans Christian Anderson 

I’m so thankful to be in this amazing family of musicians!  

Thank you all.  Mia Steenkamp”

Reana Snyman

“My journey with music started the day I was born, I think.  It has kind of always been there.  I think my small little tape-player turned on by itself when I walked into my room.  As I grew, my music collection grew and grew, later including the  classics, opera, pop, rock and everything in between.

Naturally I found my way to the recorder and primary school music rooms, driving my brother and sister insane with my practicing.  In high school I took music as a subject in grade 8 and 9, completing my UNISA Grade 3 exams, but after a move to a very small town in the middle of the Northern Cape I had to give up lessons.  But the rhythm within never really stopped.

In 2017 we relocated to George and within a year I found my way to the Carpe Musicam! Choir, and the comradery that only music can bring was back in my life.  Six months in I had a conversation with Elsabe and asked what the chances are of learning the clarinet, as it was an instrument that had always resonated with me.  “Have you ever thought of playing the saxophone?” came the side response from Norman. 

Well, two days later I found myself in a music store, bought a saxophone and drove to Norman and Elsabe’s home…. I opened the case in their dining room, giddy with excitement as the shiny instrument lay on the table.  “So… Norman, how do I put this thing together….and how do I play this??”

And with that my first rehearsal was the following Monday, not yet able to play a single note on a saxophone.  The rest, as they say, is history –  thanks to the help of Youtube, Norman and everyone in the orchestra.  

I often joke and say the saxophone was my midlife crisis… but my midlife crisis turned out to be an amazing journey as part of an amazing orchestral section (Love you saxy friends! And our honorary sax – the horn player!) and an awesome orchestra! 

At the beginning of this year my daughter joined the choir, now making my CM! experience a family affair.

Carpe Musicam! became my second family and a place where I could give my soul to the universe, wings to my mind, a place I could free my imagination – and a place where lasting friendships are forged!”

Sanri Oosthuizen

I loved teaching and giving my students a voice through flute playing in a variety of ways and settings.  Once I rewrote the Wedding March for only flutes and we performed it at a garden wedding.  The kids loved it! 

Coming to George in 2017 introduced me to this lovely orchestra; Carpe Musicam!  Informal, yet challenging; structured, yet relaxed – “making” music instead of just reproducing. 

My happy place found a home. 

Is that not what music is all about – letting all the wonderful tunes be heard!!

I loved teaching and giving my students a voice through flute playing in a variety of ways and settings.  Once I rewrote the Wedding March for only flutes and we performed it at a garden wedding.  The kids loved it! 

Coming to George in 2017 introduced me to this lovely orchestra; Carpe Musicam!  Informal, yet challenging; structured, yet relaxed – “making” music instead of just reproducing. 

My happy place found a home. 

Is that not what music is all about – letting all the wonderful tunes be heard!!

Ferdinand Engel

trumpeter

Having relocated to George in 2019 I needed to find a new musical home to express myself and live my passion.  Having heard of an Orchestra in George called Carpe Musicam!, I was compelled to find out more.  First a Choir member and then a Cello player encouraged me to come and see what the orchestra had to offer.  Having found out when and where practices were held, I arrived one evening in May 2023 with trumpet in hand.  Elsabe walked up and asked who I was and what was in the bag.  I answered, “A trumpet” and was warmly welcomed, as the seat in the brass section had just become available. 

Sue Fawcett

cellist

In 1977 we emigrated to SA and I became involved in the folk music scene and joined a group of Morris dancers and learnt to play the accordion.  Many of the instruments I had collected I played at Cèiledhs as well as playing for the country dancing.  

When the children were small, the nursery school asked me to put on a music show which I then developed for 3-6 year olds, a lively and interactive presentation demonstrating 12 instruments and teaching basic musicality.  My first performance was the most terrifying with 100 eager faces looking up at me with great expectation.  This developed over time into age appropriate presentations of musical instruments for Gr000 – Gr7, a dance workshop and a Shakespeare/Renaissance presentation for High schools introducing pupils to the life and times of Shakespeare and Elizabethan England through the instruments and music of the time.  I also dressed up in an Elizabethan costume – the corset made playing and singing very challenging!   

I added more early instruments to my collection and learnt to play the crumhorn, cornamuse and hurdy gurdy, and also added the bass and garklein to my recorder collection, now totalling 6 instruments.  In order to demonstrate what the early instruments sounded like played together, I made a backing CD and a full CD of the above instruments, plus voice and a 3 part 16th Century Madrigal.   

I worked in Gauteng schools and beyond for almost 25 years, retiring to Sedgefield in 2011.  There I met Pammy, who encouraged me to come to a Carpe Musicam! performance in the cathedral and introduced me to Norman, who invited me to attend the next rehearsal which was when Richard played bagpipes in Pirates of the Caribbean.  I felt completely out of my depth as I had not played the cello seriously for over 40 years! 

I am grateful that Carpe Musicam! has given me a home to develop my music and to hone my skills on the cello, for giving me the opportunity to play some of my greater instrument collection, and to be a part of a wonderful group of like-minded musicians. Thank you Carpe Musicam!