Guy Buttery & The Gqeberha String Trio
Music / Great Hall

Since 2011, renowned South African guitar player Guy Buttery has been working on a project that combines his virtuosic solo guitar playing and distinctly African musical voice with contemporary compositional techniques and arrangements combined with string players. 

 

Having worked with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in an associated project, this collaboration sets up the perfect platform to take Buttery’s intricate guitar-based compositions out of their solo guitar environment and re-contextualizes them in a contemporary symphonic setting.

 

Buttery has worked closely with arranger and composer Chris Letcher. Together they collaborated with the KZN Philharmonic in a performance was described as “a flawless synchronization of Africa and the West”. Based on this success, the team were immediately discussing how to take this project further. This unique pairing creates a world of opportunity for the strings and guitar operating as musical equals, and even at times as rivals, rather than simply as soloist and accompanying ensemble.

 

Buttery’s ongoing "string project" creates an enhanced musical interaction between contemporary ‘classical’ music and his own distinctive compositional style. Composing and arranging these two forces is what has been the driving force behind this collaboration. Together with the work of Chris Letcher, the project brings a rich and uniquely South African score set amongst Western instrumentation. Each of the members as well as Buttery on guitar and mbira, the African thumb piano, are treated as independent musical voices, creating unique string textures, polyphonic melodic lines and polyrhythms, rooted in Buttery’s adventurous musical style.

 

Performing a “best-of” of his collective works from the last 15 years along with brand new compositions unique to this project, Buttery relooks at the guitar and strings presentation and catapults it to new heights.

Production Credits

Guy Buttery - Acoustic guitar, sitar and mbira

David Bester - Violin

Jan-Hendrik Harley - Viola

Mariechen Meyer - Double bass

About the Artists

Guy Buttery Biography:
 
Guy Buttery has propelled his career far beyond the borders of his beloved South Africa. As an internationally recognized musician, this multi-instrumentalist enjoys invitations to play sell-out performances all over the globe. The USA, UK, Australia, France, Brazil, and Italy have all welcomed him back year after year. However, to brand Buttery as one of South Africa’s musical phenoms would be an injustice. He has grown into so much more. His international role has surpassed merely playing shows to foreign audiences. It has evolved into one as an ambassador of South African music, inspiring people across the world with our home grown style at the very heart of his talent and tenacity. He is our musical advocate for everything positive and beautiful about the place we call home.
 
Guy Buttery’s debut album in 2002, "When I Grow Up..." was nominated for ‘Best Instrumental’ and ‘Best Newcomer’ at the South African Music Awards (SAMA’s) making him the youngest nominee in the history of the event. He then went on to win a SAMA in 2010, for his album Fox Hill Lane and again in 2014, for his first live concert recording, Live in KwaZulu”. He has also received other major National accolades including the “The Standard Bank Ovation Award‟ in 2010, 2012 and 2014 for his performances at the National Arts Festival in South Africa and currently holds the record for the most Ovation Awards awarded to any musician. Guy was then invited to perform with the 52-piece KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, dubbed Africa’s greatest ensemble and was also voted Top Live Show by The Cape Times.
 
Guy was then invited to perform his works with the 52- piece KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, dubbed “Africa’s greatest ensemble” with his solo performance voted “Top Live Show” by The Cape Times and was selected by the public as one of South Africa’s Top Young Personalities by The Mail & Guardian. In 2018, Guy received the highest accolade for a musician in South Africa and was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award. In almost 4 decades of honouring artist throughout the country, this was the first time since its inception that the award was presented to a musician outside of the classical realm.
 
Buttery has worked with an incredible myriad of artists including Dave Matthews, Jethro Tull, Vusi Mahlasela, multiple Grammy Award Winner Will Ackerman, Salif Keita, Preston Reed, Kaki King, The Violent Femmes, Jon Gomm and countless others. The media has cited him “as one of the finest exponents of the acoustic guitar in the World.” Expect high dynamics, deep grooves, delicate African inflections and mind-bending guitar playing of an entirely new order.
 
The Gqeberha Trio Biography:
 
The Gqeberha String Trio was founded in 2021, when the group first performed with Guy Buttery at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda. Subsequent performances at the Klein Karoo Klassique and an album recording of the same program saw the unconventional group (violin, viola and double bass) established as the premiere classical-contemporary cross-over ensemble in the Eastern Cape. The members are all members of the Eastern Cape Philharmonic, and regularly travel domestically and internationally to perform as soloists and ensemble musicians
  • Venue: Great Hall
  • Location: The Great Hall
  • Ticket price: ZAR 120.00
  • Programme type: Curated Programme
  • Genre: Music
  • Duration: 70 mins
  • Ages: ALL AGES
    • Suitable for All Ages

There are no performances for this show.