BEHIND THE MUSIC OF KERWIN PETRUS
Personal Profile
My journey as a musician began at a very young age, in the church, with me clawing at my ears and crying when the choir sang out of tune. Years later (at age 7) I began piano and music theory lessons and later the organ. Studies with my organ teacher, Sonia Machalim, who is also a composer, nurtured my interest in music theory and composition. Upon hearing her perform one of her compositions after a service, I walked up to her. She told me that she was playing her own music and I asked: "How did you do that?", then she responded with: “Well, if you know your music theory really well and you know how to apply it…you’ll be able to write your own music one day.” Thus began my quest, if you will, to become a composer.
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In 2022, I graduated with a BMus (Cum Laude) from Stellenbosch University studying flute with Dr. Bridget Rennie-Salonen and composition with Mr. Arthur Feder and Dr. Antoni Schonken. Before I decided to pursue a music degree, I had aspired to be a video game or software designer. During high school, my interest in music became ever more evident as I started to explore the saxophone and a little bit of recorder (only to study the latter with Karin Maritz during my undergrad). Ultimately, from my encounters with multiple different instruments and styles of art music sprung forth the desire to figure out “what makes the music sound the way it does?”. Currently, I am enrolled for an MMus in Composition under Mr. Arthur Feder at Stellenbosch University. Alongside the first year of my master’s studies I took lessons in African music with Dr. Ncebekazi Mnukwana. I have performed in masterclasses with Cobus du Toit and Adria Sternstein Foster and attended workshops hosted by Katherine Kemler and Stellenbosch University’s National Ensemble Competition. In 2023, I produced new choral works for young singers as the composition intern at the Cape Choral Academy (CCA) and saw my radio debut on RSG with the performance of two art songs from my Ons Komvandaan collection, based on text by poet Diana Ferrus, by Jason September (tenor), Devon Gertse (baritone) and Joshua Pietersen (piano). Further, I received the 3rd prize in the 2024 Alexander South African Composer's Award Competition with my Suite for Orchestra which incorporates elements of four local musical styles namely: amapiano, yaadt, gqom and ghoema.
Musical Profile
My output thus far has been a collection of polystylistic orchestral, choral, solo vocal, chamber, electronic and solo instrumental works exploring neo-classism, R&B and South African styles such as ghoema. These explorations stemmed from my interest in applying the music theoretical concepts that I’ve studied, the curiosity about fusion in music — sparked by the clazz music of Hiromi Uehara — as well as Nahre Sol’s eclecticism. Traces from earlier explorations, studies of and exposure to Astor Piazolla’s nuevo tango, musical impressionism, and 20th century flute music by composers such as Pierre Sancan and Jaques Ibert can be observed in the lyrical quality of my melodic writing and in oft syncopated rhythmic figures, but the core of my music is harmonic; making use of colourful quartal and quintal structures as well as extended tertian textures. Further my studies of African music and other local popular music styles (amapiano, gqom and yaadt) have resulted in the inclusion of cyclic patterns, polyrhythms and house style grooves.
Research
The other component of my master's studies is the thesis which is an exploration of yaadt music through this lens of vibe. Expanding my practice in style critical analysis, I endeavour to explore this unique style of South African house music by revealing trends in harmony, structure, rhythmic patterns etc. It is essentially an exploration of musical syntax that allows us to discover the structuring forces that may be used to organise music across genres.
Featured Flute Performance
