The Sacred Concerts

The Sacred Concerts is one of the titles given to a series of three concerts composed by Duke Ellington.

Also found simply as Sacred Concerts

The concerts

Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts are a pioneering series of compositions blending jazz, gospel, spirituals, choral music, and tap dance. Ellington famously regarded this monumental, late-career trilogy as the most important music he ever wrote.

Dear Professor Hauptfleisch and the ESAT Editorial Team,

I am writing to enquire whether ESAT holds any documentation relating to a significant South African performing arts event: the performances of The Sacred Concerts by Duke Ellington, staged as the grand finale of the Spier Summer Festival on 14, 15 and 16 March 2002 at the Spier Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch.

The production was conducted by Professor Mike Rossi (then Professor of Jazz and Woodwinds at the University of Cape Town's South African College of Music) and produced by John Walton. The ensemble comprised Cape Town jazz musicians, three opera singers, a tap dancer, and a choir from Langa. A radio documentary about the production was subsequently made by Nigel Vermaas for SAFM.

My husband Mike Rossi and I are currently writing a book on the Cultural History of Jazz Education in South Africa, and this production represents an important and relatively undocumented moment in that history - bringing together jazz, opera, choral tradition and township musical culture in what was, to our knowledge, a rare South African staging of Ellington's Sacred Concerts. Unfortunately, the production programme appears to have been lost, and digital records from this period are very sparse.

We would be most grateful if you could advise us whether ESAT holds, or knows of the existence of, any of the following:

- A copy of the production programme - Photographs from the performances - Press reviews or preview articles - Any other documentation relating to this production or the performers involved

We would also welcome any guidance on other South African archives or collections that might hold relevant material from the Spier Summer Festival of that era.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Diane Rossi and Mike Rossi

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

2002: Staged as the grand finale of the Spier Summer Festival on 14, 15 and 16 March 2002 at the Spier Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. C

The production was conducted by Professor Mike Rossi (then Professor of Jazz and Woodwinds at the University of Cape Town's South African College of Music) and produced by John Walton. The ensemble comprised Cape Town jazz musicians, three opera singers, a tap dancer, and a choir from Langa.

A radio documentary about the production was subsequently made by Nigel Vermaas for SAFM.