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Concerts Past concert information

Picnic Concert, 6/9/2026. Family Friendly.

The Baton wll be Lifted At 15h00

on the Domus Dei Church Lawns, Blairgowrie

Whatever the weather, the show will go on!

Should it rain, we’ll move into the Church Hall, audience, picnic baskets and all, and keep the music going! This concert is too good to be missed!

Poster for Rand Symphony Orchestra's Picnic Concert, 6 September 2026

Tickets through Quicket , or at the Door on the day.

Full Price R200;

Pensioners R180;

Students R150;

Family Tickets (2 adults; 2 children over 12) R 600; 

Children under 12 – Free

Warmer days have arrived, and we are well into our preparations for the Rand Symphony’s annual picnic concert. As those of you who have attended this event before know, it is a family affair. Bring your snacks and drinks, put out a blanket on the Domus Dei Church Lawns, and relax in the highveld sun on Sunday afternoon 6 September, listening to local musicians play timeless classics.

However, should the weather turn nasty, we’ll move your picnic and our lovely programme of music into the Domus Dei Church Hall. The show will go on!

We look forward to welcoming you!

Programme:

Our opening work will have you feeling as if you’re riding the high seas – it is Felix Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture (also known as Fingal’s Cave, Op. 26) and is is a vivid orchestral work inspired by the composer’s 1829 visit to the Hebrides islands off Scotland’s west coast. The music mimics the movement of the sea, with sometimes gently undulating tunes, at other times with rolling waves of sound. It is a wonderful example of the Romantic composers’ preoccupation with music that evokes the natural landscape.

Fingal’s Cave, Island of Staffa, Scotland by Thomas Moran, 1884-5, High Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons

Beyond that we have a varied programme befitting a Springtime picnic. We are performing Ballet music from Gounod, a Strauss Horn Concerto performed by the talented Boitumelo Phaho, the Toy Symphony, (supposedly by Haydn, or Leopold Mozart, or Anonymous!), and music from My Fair Lady. Ulrich Snyman will be singing two well-known works. Other crowd pleasers such has Brahms’ Hungarian Dance no. 5 and Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance no. 1 will be performed under the baton of a new young conductor, Gerhard du Preez. We will round off the concert with the rousing Espana by Emmanuel Chabrier.

There will be no printed programmes, as each work will be announced before it is is played.

Original RSO LogoUpcoming Concerts:

 

6 September 2026 Domus Dei Church Lawns, Macolm or Jean Roads, Blairgowrie Picnic Concert (Variety)
15 November 2026 Roodepoort Theatre Gala Concert
Categories
Past concert information

Variety Concert held at Sasolburg on 23/8/2026

Sasolburg Poster 2026Our thanks to the Ettienne Roussouw Theatre, Sasolburg for hosting our Variety Concert performance on 23rd August 2026.

We hope your audience enjoyed the performance as much as we enjoyed performing for you!

 

Original RSO Logo

Upcoming Concerts:
6 September 2026 Domus Dei Church Lawns, Macolm or Jean Roads, Blairgowrie Picnic Concert (Variety)
15 November 2026 Roodepoort Theatre Gala Concert
Categories
News

Sponsor a Chair Initiative!

 

Carel Henn, communicating with the RSO
Carel Henn and Rand Symphony Orchestra Members, in rehearsal.

While rehearsing for our next two performances – a Variety Concert in Sasolburg at the Etienne Rossouw Theatre on 23rd August and our Picnic Concert at the Domus Dei Randburg Suid Church Grounds on 6th September – the Rand Symphony Orchestra is trialling a new initiative to offset some of the expenses of presenting concerts. As you are probably aware, concerts cost a large amount to put on: buying or renting music, venue hire, Conductor’s fees, Soloists’ fees and Concert Master’s fees. As we are a voluntary organisation we rely heavily on donations and membership fees.

We are inviting our supporters to sponsor a ‘chair’ in the orchestra for R1500 per concert. This would be a once-off donation. The money would go towards paying any extra players needed for the concert. Your name or business name would appear in our programme, highlighting to which position you have contributed.

If you are feeling very generous, we are also looking for sponsors for our professional soloists who perform with us. Here donations would need to be between R5000 and R10 000.

If a ‘chair’ sponsorship is too large an amount, rest assured no donation is too small. If you would like to support us in any way please email chair@randsymphony.co.za for queries regarding donations and sponsorships.

The Rand Symphony Orchestra has PBO Status with SARS and is able to issue 18A Tax Certificates to donors above a certain threshold
Upcoming Performances:
23 August 2026 Ettienne Roussouw Theatre, Sasolburg Variety Concert
6 September 2026 Domus Dei Church Lawns, Macolm or Jean Roads, Blairgowrie Picnic Concert (Variety)
15 November 2026 Roodepoort Theatre Gala Concert