(018) 299-1692 [email protected]

Instrument(s) / Discipline(s):
Bassoon / Music Education.

Period of study at the NWU School of Music / PU for CHE Department of Music:
2007-2010 / 2012-2014.

Qualifications completed at the NWU / PU for CHE:
BMus and MMus (musicology).

Notable professional achievements:
Receiving a Doctoral Fellowship from NYU.

Current professional position / occupation:
Doctoral Fellow at the Steinhardt School, New York University.

Top 5 must-hear music:
1. Jon Batiste and Stay Human — Social Music
2. Bach’s 48 (because they can really bring about world peace)
3. Brahms — Variations on a theme by Haydn (orchestral version)
4. Poulenc — Double Piano Concerto
5. Anything of the Playing for Change Songs around the World

Which personal music experiences are most memorable to you?
Getting married to a wonderful person and being able to just go wherever the wind takes me, always knowing that he’s at home.

Top 5 must-read books:
1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. Music Matters II by David Elliott and Marissa Silverman
3. The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
4. Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
5. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Favourite quote(s):
“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel — ‘Thou mayest’ — that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’ — it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.”
— John Steinbeck, East of Eden, when the author reflects on different translations of the Bible and the difference between “Thou shalt” and “Thou mayest”.

Top 5 must-see movies:
1. Mr Nobody
2. Dancer in the Dark
3. The Imitation Game
4. Singularity
5. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Which television show(s) can you watch over and over again?
Friends, and currently I’m enjoying Hannibal and Mr Robot.

Favourite food:
Thai food.

Favourite drink(s):
Copious amounts of coffee.

How do you relax?
Yoga and group meditations.

Family (spouse/children):
I am married to Sandro Morelli.

Which places would you still like to visit?
I am interested in visiting any place where people live differently from what I deem ‘normal’.

What are your funniest / fondest memories of your time at the Conservatory?
My fondest memories are of theory classes with Prof Hannes Taljaard.