David Earl 75th Birthday Celebration

Old Nectar Concerts celebrates the 75th birthday of South African pianist and composer David Earl with a special concert devoted to his music, presented in the historic wine cellar of Old Nectar Gardens in Jonkershoek — the very place where Earl was born.

Now based in Cambridge, where he has enjoyed a distinguished career as a pianist, composer and teacher, Earl has written music across an extraordinary range of genres, from ballet, opera and orchestral works to concertos and intimate chamber music. His music combines lyrical expression, rhythmic vitality and a distinctive harmonic voice, and has been performed by leading musicians in South Africa and abroad.

This special programme brings together musicians of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra — violinists Ralitza Macheva and Nicholas Bruiners, violist Petrus Coetzee, cellist Eddie McLean and double bassist Roxane Steffen — with concert pianist Jan Hugo who is currently the head of the Judith Neilson Young Artist Programme and vocal coach at Cape Town Opera.

At the heart of the programme is Nocturne–Old Nectar for double bass and piano (2022), a work inspired by Earl’s birthplace. Alongside this is his String Quartet (2010) and Piano Sextet (2018) the latter ending with a Theme and Variations finale based on the African Hymn Wakrazulwa, offering a captivating glimpse into the breadth and imagination of one of South Africa’s distinctive musical voices.

The concert also celebrates the release of a new recording of Earl’s piano music in August 2026, recently praised by the British Music Society for its “extraordinary degree of keyboard virtuosity” and for revealing a composer who “richly deserves to be much better known.”

Join us for this unique musical homecoming in the atmospheric surroundings of the Old Nectar wine cellar. Tickets are R200, including selected wines from Banhoek’s renowned Oldenburg Wine Estate and finger food during the interval. Student and learner tickets are R50, available at the door. Guests are invited to arrive early or linger after the performance to enjoy the tranquillity and beauty of the historic Old Nectar Gardens.

PROGRAMME

David Earl Nocturne-Old Nectar for double bass and piano (2022)

David Earl String Quartet (2010)

David Earl Piano Sextet (2018)