Brass band to celebrate 70th year on line

THE Moravian Brass Band Union of SA (BBSA) will be celebrating its 70th anniversary on October 31 with its first online music festival.

It will feature 235 musicians performing at seven locations across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng to commemorate 70 years of BBSA heritage in 70 minutes.

The voluntary non-profit music organisation forms part of the Moravian Church and incorporates numerous bands across the country, with band members aged from 10 to 80. BBSA president Ernst Esau said the festival would showcase their harmonious brass sound and include well-known items such as Heal the

World and The Prayer and a special composition by one of their own band members that conveys the theme of the festival, A Celebration of His Mercy.

“Many of our players come from impoverished and underprivileged areas where poverty, unemployment, crime and social ills are rife. The bands provide a platform for many youngsters to learn music, discipline, self-respect, self-worth, team spirit, being responsible and to enjoy themselves,” said Esau.

The festival required intense planning by all 236 band members and the production team, which consisted of BBSA members who filmed and recorded all the musicians over a fiveweek period in various locations across the provinces – the Cape Town section recently filmed their video recording at the Blaauwberg Beach stands.

Head of the production team and music composer Alexander Hitzeroth said he had been part of the BBSA since he was eight years old, which was when he started playing the trombone with the Salem Moravian Church brass band in Port Elizabeth, and was honoured to compose the musical piece for the 70th celebration.

The online festival will be available for viewing for seven days from October 31 until November 7 and those interested in attending were encouraged to buy a ticket on Quicket for R120 (https://qkt.io/ByghnP) and learn more about the festival on the BBSA website https:// bbsa70th.com/