Event Management at my Department: The Outcome of hard work is just amazing

Last weekend was one of the most interesting weekends of my life. Our department, SENA, had been working hard preparing for its spectacular annual event, the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition. This included among other things, preparing music score sheets, attending the first stages of the competition (the Intermediate round), preparing the SAMRO/SENA brands banners, answering important phone calls, travelling to and from the University of Johannesburg's Arts Centre (where the event was going to take place), and doing occasional archiving between the preparations.

Saturday 23 August was the day of the final round of the scholarship competition. People came in large numbers to see their favorite candidates. The standard of competition was high and everybody looked stunning. Food and drink was plenty, and of course I enjoyed networking with new people. The competition ended with Cobus Vander Merwe (Classical Flautist) and Michael Bester (Jazz Guitarist) as winners. Congratulations guys. You staged some electrifying performances.

To Wowers, sorry I forgot to invite you, but I think you have seen the screening of some of the competition’s performances on SABC 2 and E-TV when the winners were interviewed. Next time, I will definitely invite you. It is an event not to be missed. SAMRO/SENA is doing a great job in uplifting the standard of music in South Africa and you (Wowers) surely would like to see what we do. You will be cordially invited next year. THAT’S A PROMISE.

Miss you Guys.

To Noelene Kotze and the SAMRO/SENA Department

I just want to thank you and the whole SENA team for all the support you have given us since the day we started our internship at SAMRO. The workplace training and support you have given us was just amazing, and in this regard I would like to express my deepest indebtedness to you guys. We owe you an immeasurable debt of gratitude we can never repay, for you have gone the extra mile in helping us adapt to the world of work. We could not have coped without your support and I am certain that our Supervisors at the Wits Graduate School for the Humanities and Social Sciences know that. It is with great pleasure that I will concurrently be writing to them to let them know that our internship has been successful, that the support you have given us was just remarkable, that without you we wouldn’t have made it. Thank you SENA, for this opportunity. We are looking forward to having more wonderful working experience with you for the next six months.

We are indeed very grateful for the opportunity you have given us. We promise you more hard work for the department.

Thank You

Vorter/Kgomotso.

The New Project

This week, my manager, Andre Le Roux, has once again given me another wonderful opportunity to exploit my research skills at SAMRO. Besides having enthusiastically jotted down a few things, I have already secured interviews with a Jazz band in Soweto. I am very happy about my progress so far, and though still negotiated, the project I am doing is quite a massive step which will benefit, or rather reduce financial burdens on live bands performing in Johannesburg.

I will be submitting a short report on Thursday and I’m glad I have something to talk about, and after the interviews on Tuesday, I will be having more work to present.