Winter calls for comfort food, freshly brewed coffee, a warm, cosy blanket and beautiful music to uplift one’s spirit.
With this in mind, Viva Musica Ensemble will be holding a concert at Stirling Presbyterian Church on June 27.
The programme includes a number of light, popular classical pieces such as Mozart’s La Ci Darem La Mano from the opera Don Giovanni, as well as Minuet and Trio from the Symphony in E flat, K543.
The audience can also look forward to the Grand March from Verd’s opera Aida and works by Handel and Leonard Bernstein.
There will be two guest artists, namely Joy Sparg (soprano) and Lara Vellema (flautist), both of whom are teachers at Clarendon High School.
Sparg received her B Mus (cum laude) in 2020 and B Mus Honours (cum laude) in 2022 through the University of Stellenbosch.
During her studies, she performed in a number of opera productions and concerts.
Sparg is no stranger to East London music lovers and has endeared herself to local audiences on a number of occasions.
She will be singing various songs from West Side Story. She and Vellema will also perform Somewhere over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz as a duet.
Sparg will be accompanied on piano by her mother, Natalie Sparg.
Vellema, who is originally from George, pursued a Bachelor of Music degree, specialising in Music Education at Stellenbosch University. She then completed an honours degree in Repertoire Studies which allowed her to further develop her performance skills and extend her expertise as a flautist.
Vellema will be performing And Everything is Still by Andy Scott and Merry-Go-Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi. She will be accompanied by Angela Kobus.
There is no entry fee but, as usual, there will be a collection in aid of charity; this time it is the turn of the Childhood Cancer Foundation, a very worthy cause indeed.
The concert at Stirling Presbyterian Church, in Cecil Lloyd Street, is at 3pm on June 27.
There will be car guards in attendance.
