Red Bull Symphonic Debuts in South Africa with the King of Amapiano
Red Bull Symphonic Kabza De Small with Ofentse Pitse and the Symphonic Orchestra delivered a groundbreaking blend of modern Amapiano beats and classical orchestration.
On June 8 and 9, audiences were treated to an unforgettable 130-minute performance featuring the King of Amapiano, Kabza De Small, alongside the renowned conductor and the Symphonic Orchestra.
The performances highlighted Kabza De Small's iconic repertoire, with tracks such as ‘khusela’ and ‘Imithandazo’ and others reimagined through the sweeping strings, brass and soaring key-notes of a 33-piece symphonic orchestra and an eight-piece choir. This unique collaboration showcased how Amapiano, with its addictive rhythms and iconic log drum melodies, can transcend its origins to reach new, symphonic heights.
"The magic that came with mixing a more spiritual sound and the smooth melodic jazz instruments was the biggest highlight of the show,” Kabza De Small commented after the show. “Normally Amapiano is taken as a genre that couldn’t be broken down but here we are challenging the odds!” He added.
This performance was yet another milestone in the growth and international rise of Amapiano. When quizzed about ‘what’s next for Amapiano?” Kabza De Small said: “We’re going to take the sound to places that haven’t been explored yet. And conquer those."
Red Bull Symphonic, under the masterful direction of Ofentse Pitse, provided Kabza with the perfect platform to bring his cinematic sound to life in a new and electrifying way
“The highlight of my evening was seeing the combination of this dream of myself and Kabza coming to fruition,” Pitse said afterwards. “This is something that existed with us way before it was released into the world. So you can imagine the time and the hours that we put into every song, stitching it together, removing some parts, making sure that we tell an overall story of not only our experiences but also the experiences of the African child.”
As is tradition for Red Bull Symphonic events around the world (they’ve taken place USA to Australia, Germany and Jordan) Red Bull Symphonic Kabza De Small with Ofentse Pitse and the Symphonic Orchestra was supposed to be a one-night-only spectacular. Tickets however sold out within an hour and an additional night was added at the Lyric Theatre, which also subsequently sold out almost immediately.
“To have the audience feel it over the two nights and have felt it the way we lived it for the past few months, was really special,” Pitse said, before adding, “it's gonna live with me forever.”
In addition to the main performance, the audiences were entertained by the likes of big-name side acts such as Daliwonga, Njelic and Mawhoo.
Reviews and comments across social media echoed Pitse’s sentiments: Red Bull Symphonic's South African debut was more than a concert; it was a celebration of cultural convergence and musical innovation. By bringing together the raw energy of Amapiano with the elegance of a symphonic orchestra, the event highlighted the possibilities of musical expression, regardless of the genre.
With your consent, this website shall use additional cookies (including third party cookies) or similar technologies to make our site work, for marketing purposes and to improve your online experience.
You can revoke your consent via the Cookie Settings in the footer of the website at any time. Further information can be found in our Privacy Policy and in the Cookie Settings directly below.
Privacy Preference Center
When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
More information
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Performance
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Third Party Content Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by third-party providers of third-party content that is embedded on our site. They may be used by those companies to load, display, or in other ways to enable you to use that content. As this third-party content is provided by autonomous companies on their own responsibility, those companies may also use these cookies for their own additional purposes, such as marketing. Please refer to the privacy policies of those companies for that information. If you do not allow these cookies, you will not be able to use this third-party content embedded on our site, such as videos, music, or maps.