Reunion of Piano Competition Alumni. Winners all! A gathering of three former winners of the Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition get together ahead of one of the two KZN Philharmonic Orchestra piano masterclasses held this week.  Pictured is this week’s Summer Season soloist, Megan-Geoffrey Prins, who won the competition 22 years ago, with him is Weien Amy Luo who was the youngest ever winner in 2018, and her brother, Xizhi Aiden Luo who won it last year.

The annual Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition (est. 1989) is the brainchild of Professor Hubert van der Spuy, former chairman of the South African Society of Music Teachers (Tygerberg Branch) and widely respected music educator. The competition is currently the only one of its kind in South Africa and offers a unique opportunity for children aged 13 years and younger to compete against their peers from across the nation.

Prins held a piano masterclass in Clifton school yesterday, while fellow soloist, Nina Schumann held one in Durban Girls College for accomplished young pianists. Both Schumann and Prins performed in Camille Saint Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals during the last concert in the orchestra’s Summer Season – which was completely sold out. The next season is the Winter Symphony Season in June.

Photo Shelley Kjonstad