Dr Michelle Pretorius joined the School of Music in January after being appointed as Senior Lecturer for CCM singing. Previously, she was a senior lecturer and programme leader in musical theatre at the University of Chester, and she and her family have now returned to her country of birth after eight years’ residence in the UK.
Although she studied classical singing during her undergraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, it was whilst pursuing an MMus degree at the University of Cape Town that she realised she is so much more at home in musical theatre, and that changed her life. She then completed a second Master’s degree, in musical theatre this time, at Guildford School of Acting (UK) to set her up for a career in this field.
It is her specific goal to develop musical theatre as an extension of Contemporary Commercial Music at the School of Music, and to continue with her research in celebrity studies. She also floats the possibility of producing and presenting a musical on campus in the near future, and to establish an ‘open mike night’ at a venue in Potchefstroom.
Dr Pretorius likes to paint and watch old movies, and she collects and listens to vinyl records in her spare time. Her favourite musicals feature ‘cool witches’, such as Into the Woods, and she has performed Ursula from The Little Mermaid herself!
What made her happy this week (and also a little bit sad) is her youngest boy’s fifth birthday and oldest boy’s seventh birthday. She also looks forward to the imminent publication of her first research article, which will be featured in a future newsletter.
