Cape Town Baroque Festival

Erik Bosgraaf (recorder)
Raphael Pouget (natural trumpet)
Refiloe Olifant (baroque violin)
Ralitza Macheva (baroque violin)
Erik Dippenaar (harpsichord)

Camerata Tinta Barocca, founded by violinist Quentin Crida in July 2004, is a Cape Town-based baroque ensemble consisting of a core of string players with harpsichord. Its name is derived from the musicians’ passion for baroque music and red wine. The members include some of Cape Town’s finest musicians who embrace a historically informed performance practice approach. CTB’s concerts have been broadcast on Fine Music Radio and have received critical acclaim in the Cape Times and Die Burger. Mostly playing music from the 18 th century, CTB has worked with leaders in their fields, such as baroque violinists Antoinette Lohmann and Pauline Nobes; violinists David Juritz, Darragh Morgan and Zoe Beyers; countertenor Christopher Ainslie; male soprano Philipp Mathmann; recorder player Stefan Temmingh; mandolin player Alon Sariel and conductor Arjan Tien.

Apart from CTB’s annual concert series in their home, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Cape Town, the ensemble regularly accompanies opera and oratorio performances, and performs in festivals throughout South Africa. CTB also has an active outreach component, which includes an annual educational tour to the West Coast, the Sunshine Tour (an outreach programme for people unable to attend concerts because they are elderly, indigent or disabled in some way), as well as a regular collaboration with the Keiskamma Music Academy in the Eastern Cape.

Since 2011 CTB has gradually moved towards playing on period instruments. Currently it is the only period ensemble in South Africa that regularly plays in orchestral format, performing most of its annual concerts on period instruments. In 2013 CTB, in collaboration with the Cape Consort, gave the first South African period performance of Handel’s Messiah. During November 2016 CTB played for the first Cape Town Opera production with a period instrument orchestra, in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, directed by Jaco Bouwer and conducted by Erik Dippenaar. In December 2016 CTB was nominated for a KYKNET Fiesta award for a programme titled Handel in the drawing room presented during the 2016 Klein Karoo Klassique festival.

In 2015 CTB set up a collaboration with the early music ensemble Collegium Musicum at the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town, through which two student cadets annually receive hands-on training in period performance in CTB projects. The cadet scheme is generously supported by the Claude Leon Foundation. In July 2015 Erik Dippenaar was appointed Artistic Director of CTB, Michael Maas (former CEO of the Artscape Theatre Centre) as Administrative Coordinator, and Cheryl de Havilland as Outreach Coordinator.

Tickets are available from Webtickets: http://bit.ly/CTCS12019 or from the Baxter Theatre Centre Box Office on the night of the concert.  For more information call 084 682 1337 or email info@ctconcerts.co.za