MN Orchestra to be 1st U.S. orchestra to perform in South Africa

Courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra

The Minnesota Orchestra will be the first United States professional orchestra to visit South Africa when it embarks on a five-city tour this summer honoring Nelson Mandela.  

The tour is part of a worldwide celebration of the Nobel Peace prize-winning South African leader, who would have been 100 years old this year. It is one of 50 projects planned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to commemorate Mandela’s legacy on the centenary of his birth. 

The Minnesota Orchestra will perform in Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Soweto and Johannesburg from Aug. 8-19. It will be the first visit by a professional U.S. orchestra to the country. 

The orchestra will play music that derives from South African, American and European musical traditions, including the world premiere of Harmonia Ubuntu by South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen. 

Minnesota audiences will be the first to experience the “Music for Mandela” project at the Minnesota Orchestra’s annual Sommerfest – 10 concerts at Orchestra Hall from July 13 through Aug. 1.