Cape Philharmonic Orchestra

Cape Philharmonic Orchestra
Background information
Also known as CPO
Origin Cape Town, Western Cape SA
Genres Classical
Popular music
Soundtrack
New Age
Occupation(s) Symphony orchestra
Years active 1914–present
Website www.cpo.org.za
Members Principal Guest Conductor
Owain Arwel Hughes
Past members Thomas Rajna
Darryl Andrews

The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is an orchestra based in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.

History

The CPO is part of a history of symphonies based in Cape Town which began in 1914. In 1987, an exchange program was established between the Orchestra and the Taipei Arts Festival as part of South Africa's relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).[1]

In 1994, many feared that the CPO and other Eurocentric cultural institutions would diminish or fail in the non-racial democracy begun with the 1994 elections. This fear was not realized as the orchestra grew in the post-1994 era. It began including courses in local townships which were created for non-white South Africans during the apartheid era.[2]

In 2011, the group became the first African orchestra to tour the United States. As of that year, it performed 160 concerts at home a year and received 80% of its US$2.7 million budget from the South African government.[2]

Orchestra Members

Principal Guest Conductor

Owain Arwel Hughes

References

  1. ↑ Taiwanese Investment in South Africa by John Pickles and Jeff Woods, African Affairs, October 1989
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Palm Beach Daily News (14 February 2011) "Cape Town Philharmonic working to bridge the racial divide"

External links

See also