“Madiba: Watching the Sunset” celebrates the legacy of Nelson Mandela
The world premiere of "Madiba" by composer Mokale Koapeng will be performed by the New Orchestra of Washington.
The legacy of the late, great Nelson Mandela is the focus of the next concert from the New Orchestra of Washington, a one-of-a-kind, genre-bending ensemble, and led by the husband-and-wife team of Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez and Grace Cho.
Hernandez-Valdez will lead a program offering a world premiere of “Madiba: Watching the Sunset” by South African composer Mokale Koapeng, and featuring South African countertenor Roger O. Isaacs, performed in the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.
Mandela, also known by the affectionate nickname Madiba as well as by the moniker “Father of the Nation,” became South Africa’s first black head of state when he was elected president in 1994, three years after the fall of apartheid.
Mandela cited music as a key source of strength that helped him persevere during the nearly three decades he was imprisoned under apartheid.
Two of Mandela’s favorite composers, George Frideric Handel and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, will be highlighted in the concert, with Tchaikovsky’s striking, ultimately triumphant Symphony No. 5 and the French overture from Handel’s Water Music as well as arias from his operas Rinaldo, Alcina, and Serse, all featuring Isaacs, who sang the South African National Anthem at Mandela’s memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral in 2013.
The program centerpiece, however, is the premiere of Koapeng’s Yixesha! Ke Nako (The Time Is Now!), a work commissioned by Classical Movements for New Orchestra of Washington. Koapeng will join Hernandez-Valdez one hour before the concert for a kNOWit Discussion exploring the inspiration behind the work, the interaction between music and community, and the connection to Mandela’s legacy.
Thursday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m., or 6:30 for the discussion. Tickets are $29 to $59. Call 202-467-4600 or visit www.neworchestraofwashington.org.
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