Evocation - A Violin Recital by Ané van Staden

ABOUT

Violinist Ané van Staden and pianist Misha Melck present a captivating recital featuring the rich emotional landscapes of Romanticism and early 20th-century music. The programme features Brahms's intense and brooding Violin Sonata No. 3, Debussy's ethereal and impressionistic Violin Sonata, and de Falla's spirited Suite Populaire Espagnole.

Ané van Staden (née du Toit) is a lecturer in violin and ensemble studies at the University of Pretoria, where she earned her MMus (cum laude) in Violin Performance in 2015 and is currently pursuing a Dmus in violin performance with a focus on training violinists within string quartets. Since 2008, she has been an active chamber musician and soloist, studying under Johanna Roos, Irene Tsoniff, Natalia Lomeiko, and Corina Belcea. She has won numerous awards, including the DJ Roode Overseas Scholarship and Jennie Perreira Prize for Strings. Ané has performed extensively in Europe, touring with the Miagi Orchestra and serving as concertmaster. She is a founding member of the Evolution of 4 String Quartet, performed at numerous national festivals, and was appointed concertmaster of the Gauteng Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015. In addition to her lecturing and performing roles, Ané is dedicated to music education, serving as Head of Strings for the Gauteng Chamber Music Festival from 2014-2018 and founding the Gauteng Music Initiative in 2017 to promote chamber music and teacher training. Ané is married to horn player and conductor Jaco van Staden and has three children.

Misha Melck is an accomplished South African pianist who began her musical journey at the age of seven. Just six months after starting piano lessons, she made her debut as a soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. Misha quickly gained recognition, winning the SANLAM National Music Competition in Cape Town in 2002 and securing third prize at the Virtuosi per Musica di Pianoforte Competition in the Czech Republic, along with an award for the best performance of a Czech composition. Her accolades continued with a second-place finish in the Musicon National Piano Competition in 2003, and she later participated in the Symphonic Workshop in Varna, Bulgaria.

Misha’s education includes studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Pascal Nemirovski and a BMus in Performing Art from the University of Pretoria, where she also completed her MMus degree cum laude. Her international experiences include master classes across Europe, and she has performed with various orchestras in South Africa and abroad. Misha has won numerous awards, including the UNISA Licentiate Overseas Scholarship Competition, which enabled further studies in Europe. She has served as a répétiteur and collaborative pianist at the University of Pretoria and commenced her doctorate studies in 2020 under Dr. Ben Schoeman and Prof. Amanda du Preez.