In die stilte van my tuin: A Voice & Piano Recital

Mezzo-soprano Kirsten Pienaar and pianist Alex Van Wyk present a programme of garden songs, music inspired by the natural beauty of our own backyards. From Handel to Sondheim, the duo will explore the multitude of art songs and arias written about flowers and ferns, greenery and gardens. The programme includes repertoire from Schubert, Schumann, Mahler and Van Wyk, featuring music both familiar and new.

All proceeds will go towards the Samaritan Partners Trust, Rondebosch United Church's registered welfare vehicle concerned with humanitarian crisis alleviation.

About the Samaritan Partners Trust:

Over the last 15 years, it has received and distributed many hundreds of thousands of rands to those in crisis and severe need, including: Mbekweni Soup Kitchen; Friends of Child Protection; Homestead’s Early Intervention Centre (for street children); Loaves and Fishes (shelter); Peninsula School Feeding Scheme; Cape Mental Health Society; Jabulani Rural Health Society; Salvation Army winder relief; Vista Nova School (for children living with disabilities); Ons Plek (shelter for female street children) and many others.

About Alex Van Wyk:

Alexandra Van Wyk began her studies with Prof Nina Schumann at Stellenbosch University in 2016 and completed her BMus degree at the end of 2019, specialising in piano accompaniment. In 2019, Alexandra became the first ever collaborative pianist to win the Mabel Quick Instrumental Bursary Competition, in addition to receiving the Betsie Cluver award for the overall best achievement in piano as a principal instrument in her year group. Other bursary awards for academic and practical achievements include bursaries from both the National Arts Council (2020 and 2021) and the Myra Chapman trust (2020). Alexandra is active as a performer, having played at venues across Cape Town and Stellenbosch such as Casa Labia, (Muizenberg) the Baxter Theatre (Rondebosch) and Old Nectar (Stellenbosch). In 2022, Alexandra was selected as one of the Songmaker’s Guild’s Young Artists and later that year, graduated with her MMus degree (Piano Accompaniment) cum laude. Throughout her Masters studies, Alexandra worked as assistant lecturer to the piano department, as well as student accompanist. In December, Alexandra received an entrance scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, and is moving to the United Kingdom in August to begin her Master of Arts (Piano Accompaniment) degree.

About Kirsten Pienaar:

Kirsten Pienaar is a South African mezzo-soprano, specialised in opera performance. In addition to opera, Kirsten sings across several genres, including art song and musical theatre. While at the University of Stellenbosch, she was awarded various prestigious bursaries and scholarships, including the Mabel Quick Bursary Competition Prize for Singers, the Stellenbosch University Women’s Association Bursary, and the Postgraduate Scholarship Programme Bursary. Her time at university was marked by a number of performance roles and opportunities in both musical theatre and opera, including productions of Die Fledermaus (2018), The Fairy Queen (2018), and La Traviata (2020). In 2022, Kirsten began working for the Cape Town Opera company in an administrative position, and soon found herself performing on stage. In addition to ad hoc chorus work and small solo roles throughout the 2022 season, Kirsten also understudied the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and performed in the touring production of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, both directed by Magdalene Minnaar. Beyond the realm of performance, Kirsten is an avid researcher, and is currently writing her Master’s thesis on the operas of South African composer Roelof Temmingh under the supervision of Prof. Winfried Lüdemann.