News

Institutions like Opera UCT are making opera accessible, relevant, and proudly rooted in the African experience. They are training the next generation of voices to take their rightful place on the world stage.

Opera UCT and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra with the powerful voices of the CPO AfriArts Choir, is proud to present a concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore- for one night only- at Cape Town City Hall, 26 June 2025.

The Cape Town International Jazz Festival, ‘Africa’s Grandest Gathering’, returns in 2025 with a powerful reminder of where the heartbeat of South African jazz lies: right here at the University of Cape Town.

The ‘Freedom in Sound’ national tour reaches its historic crescendo in the Mother City on Saturday, 10 May 2025, when Kesivan & The Lights take the stage at the iconic Baxter Concert Hall for one extraordinary night.

Join the UCT Big Band at the Baxter Theatre on April 30th in celebration of International Jazz Day. Under the dynamic direction of Justin Bellairs, the band will perform a rich repertoire encompassing various jazz styles.

The Rainbow Exchange NPC, in collaboration with the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town (UCT), are thrilled to announce the first Cape Town Woodwind Festival, which will take place at UCT from 8–11 April 2025.

Hit the high note and the high life and head to the Baxter Concert Hall, Thursday, 25 February 2025!

Opera UCT presents Benjamin Britten’s thrilling ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. Directed by Harriet Taylor, fresh from her residency at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, together with Movement Director, Scott Howland.

As the highly anticipated world premiere of Donizetti’s rediscovered operatic masterpiece approaches on 4 September, we take a look under the ‘hood’ of what audiences can expect from the stunning costumes that will grace the stage.

The South African College of Music and the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies at the University of Cape Town collaborate to bring you uVuyo – Music and Dance in Motion. With a diverse range of dance styles.

Opera UCT awarded prestigious honour of the World Premiere Staging of Donizetti’s rediscovered opera ‘Dalinda’.

A spectacular African music performance in honour of the UCT's very own Professor Zungula Mzikantu Plaatjies, better known as Dizu, to honour and celebrate a man of monumental stature ahead of his retirement.

Two new books – one charting the performance history of opera in Cape Town and the other on the life of the late South African repetiteur Gordon Jephtas – will be launched on Tuesday, 21 May 2024 at the Baxter Concert Hall.

South African College of Music alumnus Conrad Asman’s first opera, ‘Trial by Media,’ was recently performed with great success at Artscape as part of Cape Town Opera’s ‘Shorts – A Festival of Pocket Operas.’

From her base in Belgium, proudly South African singer, artist and actor, and UCT alumnus, Tutu Puoane, has carved an international career predicated on consistency and mastery.

The UCT Big Band, under the directorship of Associate Professor Amanda Tiffin will join the global jazz community in commemorating International Jazz Day which falls on the 30th of April, as declared by UNESCO.

Founded in 2004, the Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa (JMAA) is published by NISC (Pty) Ltd in partnership with Taylor & Francis, and associated with the South African College of Music (SACM) at the University of Cape Town.

Opera UCT & Cape Town Opera present spectacular reimagining of Verdi’s La Traviata

The South African College of Music walked away with top prizes at the 7th UNISA National Piano Competition.

SACM alumna Mikhaila Alyssa Smith is making waves in New York, having won a film scoring competition and having work premiered by the NYU Orchestra.