Young violin maestro Pendo Masote’s dream to perform on iconic stages with the best in the music world was realised when he made his debut at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this week.
The 13-year-old violinist is making waves in the classical music industry while following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Kutlwano and Michael Masote, both well-known in classical music circles.
Crowd members, young and old, gathered inside the Beethoven Room at the Rhodes Music School on Friday evening to hear the young man create magic.
With finesse and extreme focus Masote and his band comprising JF Viljoen on piano, Elizabeth Rennie and Hayley Jackson on violin, Michaela van Blerk on viola and Caleb Vaughn Jones on cello, wowed the crowd with classics from Wolfgang Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, Fritz Kreisler as well as John Legend’s All of me and Adele’s Someone like You.
The selection of music allowed the audience to enjoy the full richness of the violin’s sound.
Young Masote’s talent was cultivated in an environment where art was embraced. His grandfather Michael was one of the country’s most loved classical music stalwarts, known best as a conductor and educator, while his father Kutlwano has earned his reputation as an acclaimed classical music conductor and cellist.
Their love for music gave birth to a third generation of talent in Pendo, who fell in love with music at age three, and began his violin lessons at age five.
Pendo is currently the youngest member of the South African National Youth Orchestra. He also has numerous awards under his belt, and is off to Italy in July to participate in the II Piccolo Violin Magico competition. In September this year he leaves South Africa to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England.
Catch him tonight for his final show at the Graham Hotel, where he will entertains the audience with the lighter sounds of Adele, Michael Jackson and Clean Bandit.
Young violinist wows crowd at the festival
The 13-year-old violinist is making waves in the classical music industry while following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Kutlwano and Michael Masote, both well-known in classical music circles.
Crowd members, young and old, gathered inside the Beethoven Room at the Rhodes Music School on Friday evening to hear the young man create magic.
With finesse and extreme focus Masote and his band comprising JF Viljoen on piano, Elizabeth Rennie and Hayley Jackson on violin, Michaela van Blerk on viola and Caleb Vaughn Jones on cello, wowed the crowd with classics from Wolfgang Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, Fritz Kreisler as well as John Legend’s All of me and Adele’s Someone like You.
The selection of music allowed the audience to enjoy the full richness of the violin’s sound.
Young Masote’s talent was cultivated in an environment where art was embraced. His grandfather Michael was one of the country’s most loved classical music stalwarts, known best as a conductor and educator, while his father Kutlwano has earned his reputation as an acclaimed classical music conductor and cellist.
Their love for music gave birth to a third generation of talent in Pendo, who fell in love with music at age three, and began his violin lessons at age five.
Pendo is currently the youngest member of the South African National Youth Orchestra. He also has numerous awards under his belt, and is off to Italy in July to participate in the II Piccolo Violin Magico competition. In September this year he leaves South Africa to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England.
Catch him tonight for his final show at the Graham Hotel, where he will entertains the audience with the lighter sounds of Adele, Michael Jackson and Clean Bandit.
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