Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra presents Symphonic Jazz 2026!
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) is gearing up to enchant and enthral its family of music lovers with a way-to-go extravaganza of musos! Bringing their passion to the Linder Auditorium for a once-off Jamboree of Big Stage Jazz, conductor Daniel Boico and the JPO, team up with The Victor Masondo Quartet and Lindi Ngonelo!
By CityLife Arts Writer
Main Picture: Lindi Ngonelo and Victor Masondo
This month is the time when classical music and jazz fans are poised to enjoy one of the most innovative series to emerge out of the South African live performance scene, Symphonic Jazz series.
‘Welcome, our dear family and friends of Egoli’s concert-going community!’ says Bongani Tembe, JPO CEO & Artistic Director. ‘We invite you to sit back, let loose and celebrate as we bring you an evening to remember for many moons, enjoying genre-defying masterworks by Gershwin, Bernstein, and Ellington!’
Maestro Daniel Boico and his JPO players launch the evening in full sway, inviting their audience to experience the headlong rush of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess medley! This thrilling symphonic jazz masterpiece blends lush orchestral grandeur with infectious blues rhythms. From haunting spirituals to the thrum of jazz standards, this musical journey launches a night of rhythm, passion, and timeless American brilliance. Gershwin’s landmark 1935 folk opera bridged the gap between the razzmatazz of Broadway, and the allure of the concert hall and opera house. Fusing classical tradition with African American blues and jazz, this evening’s medley collates a hit parade of great Americana into a rich orchestral portrait. Unforgettable numbers include Summertime, I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin, It Ain’t Necessarily So Bess, You Is My Woman Now, a soaring, deeply romantic duet where Porgy and Bess pledge their unwavering love to one another; My Man’s Gone Now, It Takes a Long Pull to Get There; A Woman Is a Sometime Thing; There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin, and Soon for New York.
Known to millions of global television viewers simply as ‘Lennie’, Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story concert medley distils the great American Composer-Conductor-Educator’s ground-breaking 1957 Broadway score into an intense orchestral canvas. Fusing traditional American musical theatre with sophisticated jazz harmonies, bebop rhythms, and Latin dance forms like the mambo and cha-cha, Lennie’s distinctive work showcases complex counterpoint and driving percussion. This symphonic arrangement features a selection of the show’s most iconic songs: America; Tonight’; Maria; Somewhere; Jet Song’; ‘Cool; I Feel Pretty and Officer Krupke.
And so, to the third fabulous orchestral set piece of the evening! Who says Tchaikovsky needs to stay stuffy? Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn totally flipped the classical script, turning a 19th-century ballet into a swaggering, finger-snapping jazz masterpiece. Premiered on December 20, 1960, at the Opera House in Chicago, Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite trades dainty tutus for sultry saxophone riffs, swinging clarinet breaks, and driving brass. Instead of sugarplum fairies, you get sultry Sugar Rum Fairies and a hip-shaking Danse of the Floreadors.
Interlacing their own signature brands of music-making between these three orchestral showpieces, two of Mzansi’s Big Name Stars – the inimitable Victor Masondo Quartet and glamorous Lindi Ngonelo – are set to show their paces on piano with their own compositions.
With such a line-up on offer, expect the wow factor in dollops!
Concert details
Where: Linder Auditorium, Wits Parktown Campus
When: 24 September at 19.00.
Boooking: Tickets available on Quicket.
Further information: info@jpo.co.za