The Cape T
own Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest and foremost orchestra in Africa, having been established in 1914. It has a national and international reputation for excellence thanks to the high quality of its performances and the artists such as pianists Paul Lewis and Stephen Hough and violinist Joshua Bell. Versatile and multifunctional, the CPO accompanies ballet, opera, musicals, plays pops, rock and family concerts as well as concerts tailored for schools and presents a platform to community performances. The orchestra’s vast youth education and development programme includes two acclaimed youth orchestras, a music academy and a grassroots strings and woodwinds training project, Masidlale, which teaches marginalized young people the value and self-worth that comes from music.