ATKV-Crescendo’s Platformsessies music production to show off rising stars later this month in Stellenbosch

ATKV-Crescendo’s Platformsessies music production to show off rising stars later this month in Stellenbosch
Whaden Johannes

This May will see months of hard work culminating in a vocal explosion as some of South Africa’s most powerful emerging women of song take to the stage as part of the ATKV-Crescendo Musical Development Project.

On Friday, May 20, the Development Project, which mentors up-and-coming Afrikaans artists, is set to host a celebration of talent when 2022 ATKV-Crescendo Mentor Programme finalists, Marsha Botha and Athina Janes, join mentor, celebrated musician and poet, Gracia Nicholls, on stage.

The women, who have been lauded for their vocal skills and writing abilities, are set to start the ATKV-Crescendo’s Platformsessies off with a bang.

According to Robin Fourie, the creative director and brand ambassador for ATKV-Crescendo and Platformsessies, this will be the first session with an exclusively female vocal cast.

“This is the first time that we’re going to have just ladies on the stage – it is an opportunity to celebrate our female songwriters, and champion them, as we want the world to hear the uniqueness of the writing style, as well as witness their skill level as entertainers,” he said, describing the show as an intimate performance with a sexy side.

His views are echoed by fellow MC Whaden Johannes, an actor and radio personality as well as a seasoned singer-songwriter in his own right, who currently stars on the kykNET telenovela, Arendsvlei.

“I never see myself as more experienced or that I know more, because, to be honest, those three ladies make me nervous. The talent that they’re bringing is unheard of,” he said, adding that he is excited to once again share the stage with Fourie.

 

EVENT DETAILS:

Venue:  The Daisy Jones Bar, Stellenbosch

Ticket prices: R200 p.p.

Date: 20 May

Time: 19:00

Theme: Lady’s Night

VIP deals that include entry to three Platformsessies recordings, as well as the Crescendo Sit dit aan show, are available for R2 000 and include a T-shirt and a bottle of wine.

 

Website details:

  1. https://atkv.org.za/nuus/categories/atkv-crescendo/

Social media info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atkvcrescendo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atkv.crescendo/

More about ATKV-Crescendo

  • Crescendo is not a talent competition – it’s a development programme aimed at equipping songwriters with expertise. The project also focuses on discovering new sounds in Afrikaans and all participants are encouraged to write and sing in their own dialect. Through this method, the project ensures that there is a constant flow of new talent, new songs and new sounds in the Afrikaans music industry.
  • Auditions are held annually to find new aspiring songwriters. Auditions are offered as far as possible, with a mix of areas between metropolitan areas and areas where people do not have easy access to these types of events, and there is also an annual opportunity for digital entries.
  • Each person auditioning must do so a song written by him- or herself, where physical auditions are presented, followed by a one-day workshop hosted by a team of Crescendo mentors, and at the end of the day, finalists are selected for the Mentor Programme – the mentor programme is presented annually and therefore consists of finalists selected during auditions as well as finalists selected from the digital entries.
  • The project places a tremendous amount of focus on human development, and the core of training and development is grounded in two words or traits, character and integrity.
  • After the mentoring programme, the finalists are selected for the Crescendo finals – these groups are then invited to a final workshop of about a week, which concludes with a launch concert. The launch concert offers finalists the opportunity to also share the stage with the mentors and during the week of the workshop, they rehearse with the Crescendo orchestra. Part of the training offered is entrepreneurship in the arts and this course aims to empower artists as entrepreneurs and ensure that they can be self-sustaining.
  • The team of mentors is selected from a diverse pool of musicians and artists, thus ensuring that each finalist is served with as much expertise, knowledge as well as relevant experience that each mentor can offer from their reality and frame of reference