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Musicians are almost always involved in several groups and projects, and we are very fortunate to live in a city with such an abundance of music, art, history, and culture. The music community in Makhanda is particularly intertwined and it is not uncommon for friends and associates to collaborate on specific projects, or stand in for each other on occasion. Members of Saeculum Aureum have been involved in music in Makhanda for over 20 years, and many of us have family who have been so for even longer.
In early 2021, John Jackson proposed the idea of an Easter performance of the full final part of Handel's "Messiah" to celebrate the return of singing in churches after COVID-19 restrictions. This lead to a series of concerts (culminating in Oratorio at Home) exploring the sound world of the Victorian Era, when the increased affordability of home pianos made small scale performances of large works commonplace.
In August 2023 A Concert for Women's Day was the first of a new series of collaborations inspired by the “and friends” concerts put on by Juan Muñoz and Mariel Illusorio during their tenure at Rhodes University. As well as our usual choral repertoire, performances in this vein include solo pieces performed and accompanied by friends and associates of the group in addition to members of Saeculum Aureum.
Cameron D B Luke
M.A.(Oxon) | Ed.D. | F.R.C.O.(Dip CHD)
Born in Penzance, Cornwall, Cameron studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and worked in Southern Norway as an organist and choirmaster before studying music and taking up the position of organ scholar at Worcester College, Oxford. As an organist, he has appeared in BBC ‘Songs of Praise’ and as a soloist with the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he was invited to play for the Centenary Commemoration service in the Falklands Memorial Chapel of Pangbourne College in the presence of HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Until Easter 2018, he was Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Cheltenham and was Chairman of the Gloucestershire Organists’ Association. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) from the Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Christian University for services to Christian music education in April 2021.
Alida van der Walt
B.Mus.(Hons)
Having specialised in Vocal Performance at the University of Stellenbosch, Alida is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Musicology at Rhodes University. Her research investigates expectations of female respectability in South African classical vocal performance. Alida is also an eager voice teacher and arts administrator.
Theresa Dwyer
B.Mus.(Hons)
A long time friend of members of Saeculum Aureum, Theresa is a local pianist and piano teacher. Raised in Grahamstown, she studied and then worked in Cape Town for 11 years. She subsequently moved back to Grahamstown where she has started a private music centre. Passionate about music and education – and especially music education, Theresa continually strives to inspire others through her work.
Garreth Robertson
M.Mus.
As a performer passionate about collaborative music-making, Garreth works at Rhodes University as an accompanist, répétiteur and chamber music coordinator. He is currently pursuing a PhD, investigating the value of musical performance as a form of knowledge production.
John Jackson
M.A.
Although John's music making has been chiefly singing, much of his collaboration with Saeculum Aureum has been as a pianist. He seems to have been a late developer, having made much progress in the last five years, during which time he has been the main driving force and accompanist for our performances of large choral works.