Samson Diamond, violin tutor at this year’s Sasol National Youth Orchestra Course, and Sophia Welz, SANYOF Chief Operations Officer, were invited to visit Nelson Mandela on 15 September. What an honour to be in the presence of our very own Madiba and for Samson to play for him!

“The National Youth Orchestra played a pivotal role in triggering off and nurturing my interest in orchestral music. It is an asset this country could not afford to lose. Look at the talent that the orchestra has helped to produce: Gerard Korsten, Paul van der Merwe, Pieter Schoeman, Michael Snyman, Peter van de Geest, Jeoffrey Cox – even Anton Nel was in the Youth Orchestra for a while, in the percussion section! Gina Beukes, the list continues…”