Tuesday, August 13th- David Glen Hatch Concert in Cape Town

Today is the day of the Cape Town Concert and it is still raining and cold. We are hoping it will clear up later. We had a free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express where we were staying and the DGH group went on a tour of Cape Town.

Our hotel faced St George Mall, so there were not only stores close by, but there were booths around the square with African items for sale, so I went and had a look. I forgot my necklaces when I came on this trip, so I was looking for more inexpensive 'made in Africa' necklaces. The first booth I went to was a bit pricey, even though I found something I liked, so I decided to keep looking. He only wanted 80R for his necklace ($8), but it was a pretty simple necklace. The next place I stopped had the same necklace for R30 ($3), so it was a smart move, plus I bought two other ones that were really nice. Total for all three was R183 and I gave her an extra R20, which made her very happy, so I paid the equivalent of $20 for all three. The blue stones in the one  necklace are turquoise. The lady I bought them from was very nice, made the necklaces herself, and was very happy to get my business. She said that because it had rained for the last eight days, she was not making very many sales. It started raining again while I was there, so she and another lady messed with the canvas to make sure I was not getting rained on. They were so sweet.

We were supposed to meet back up with the group at 12:30, so we could go to Mowbray Chapel and practice until it was time to go to the Concert Hall, where we had to pay for two hours practice and it did not start until 4:00. As was usual during this trip, they were late, but we eventually got everyone loaded. It started pouring rain, we took a wrong turn because we lost track of Brother Heim, but we finally found our way there and got them into the church to practice. This is one of the few photos we got of Brother Heim who drove half the crew around in his van. He was a very responsible man that kept us always going the right direction, literally. He owns his own business, so he volunteered to give us his time while we were there and it was greatly appreciated. Thank you Brother Heim for putting up with all of us.








This gave us time to talk to the ones who were waiting their turn to practice and I asked Gregory what he did when he wasn't playing the piano. He is an avid snow skier and loves to do jumps and go fast. Courtney surprised me by telling me that she has horses and competes in barrel racing and won the national cutting competition recently. Derek (youngest), said his only hobby was piano and he was going to do it for a living. He is so sweet and so focused and so amazingly talented that I am sure he will do just that. It was fun to see them kid each other and seem so relaxed. Courtney was passing out energy bars to the two boys, who were 'very hungry'. She told me that she was their mom on this trip and for the most part, she seemed very mature for age 17.


Soon, it was time to pile in the vans again and head for Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium to practice and get ready for the night's concert. We got there ten minutes early, so the group decided to take photos. They asked me if I could come outside and take a photo of them by the Lambrechts sign at the entrance. It was cold and windy, but how could I refuse? We went out and took photos and it was very rewarding to see how impressed they were with the venue, especially after the Chatsworth event, which was definitely not a concert hall.

It was beautiful outside and in. They showed us to the dressing/waiting area and everyone brought in their stuff. At 4:00, the main concert hall was still being used by someone else, so no one could get in there to practice, but there were three other pianos elsewhere, so they practiced on them. They acted like it was very important to practice on the piano you were going to play on before the concert, but they were having some kind of music testing and would not let us in until it was over.



The woman outside the hall said it would be about five more minutes, but it ended up being 35 more minutes and DGH was not happy. He really wanted more time to get used to the instrument.

There were supposed to be two pianos, so Elder Kyle and Liz Burger had to try and find someone to see where the other piano was. That took some doing, but finally they got the maintenance guy to get the piano out of storage and move it to the stage. We breathed a sigh of relief when that was done.

No one had any lunch so everyone was hungry. Liz Burger brought in the food she ordered and finally allowed them to eat, which helped their moods immensely. Then they took turns on the concert grand piano.

Flowers arrived that Liz had ordered and she gave corsages and boutineers to all the participants and to Elder Kyle and I (and her) as well. We were helping pin them on as the performers got dressed and ready to go on.



DGH called everyone together and wished them well and asked me to say a prayer before they went on, so I prayed for the Spirit to be with them as they played, that they would do their best and that those in attendance would be spiritually fed and give a love for classical music.




As I was taking photos, the missionaries all arrived, and arrived and arrived. There were all 68 of the Cape Town missionaries there. It was wall to wall missionaries. I had to ask them to spread out a bit, so non-member attendees would not be intimidated. They were all in rare form asking me to take their picture and having some funny poses. These guys were really in rare form. I felt like I was taking pictures for a men's calendar...well they are pretty cute, so it was fun watching them decide how to pose.




Elder Kyle was introducing himself to all of them and met the mission president and his wife. He thanked them for letting all the missionaries come to the concert. We put them to work as ushers and ticket takers, but most got to sit back and watch the show...and what a show it was!




I'll start with the program description, so you can get a feel for the performers and pretend you were there:

David Glen Hatch has performed as a soloist and guest artist with symphony orchestras in over 36 countries on six continents. He has had four Grammy nominations; his most recent album, "Movie Masterpieces" was a Grammy nominee for Best Instrumental Soloist. This will be his first ever live performance in South Africa. He travels with a small group of world-class pianists. He will play:
Adagio in B Minor, K.540.....W.A. Mozart and Barcarolle, Op.60.......Frederic Chopin

Sicilienne for Clarinet and Piano by J.S. Bach
(Arrangement for two pianos/eight hands by Mack Wilberg)
Performed by:
David Glen Hatch, Cortney Pace,
Derek Banks and Gregory Ellis

Derek Banks

Derek Banks, 14, of Pleasant Grove, Utah is the youngest performer on tonight's program. He began his piano studies at the age of five and since becoming a student of Dr. Hatch has shown prodigious musical and pianistic ability. Derek has won many top prizes in state Concerto, Solo, and Ensemble Competitions and enjoys composing his own music. Derek is thrilled to be performing for you in South Africa, as he now has a great start toward his lofty goal of becoming a world-renowned concert pianist.
 He is playing: Staccato Etude, Op.23, No.2...Anton Rubinstein and Sonata, Op.27, No.2 .....Ludwig van Beethoven (3rd Movement)

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith, 18, a student of the piano since age 8 and avid performer has been the recipient of first place and other awards and honors in solo, ensemble and concerto competitions. A Student of DGH, he has participated in international concert tours to Chile, Peru, Germany and Austria. Recently, Nathan was honoured as the Music Sterling Scholar of his High School and enjoys his own studio of private teaching. Additionally, he enjoyed great community and church performance opportunities and composing and arranging music. Nathan, the youngest of seven children and living in Orem, Utah, will be leaving for a mission to Washington State soon after he returns from this tour. He is playing:
Capriccio, Op. 116, No.1....Johannes Brahms   and   Concerto No.1 (Excerpt)....Sergei Prokofieff

Lauren Adja Park

Lauren Adja Park performs extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Some of her most recent engagements have been in Rome, Perugia, Amalfi, Paris, Vianden, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Some recent venues include the Teatro di Marcello, Basilica di San Pietro, Centre Yamaha Paris and the Joseph Clayes Performing Art Centre. A native of California, Lauren began her training in Utah under the auspices of Dr. David Glen Hatch. Additionally, Lauren has performed in master classes for such artists as IIana Vered, Enrique Graf, Daniel Pollack and Gary Graffmann. Collaborative engagements within the last season include appearances with the Ashdod Symphony Orchestra and violinists Marie No and Gabriel Bolkosky. Lauren is pursuing a masters degree in music in piano performance. She will be performing: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8...Franz Liszt and Etude Tableau Op.39, No.9...Sergie Rachmaninoff

David Glen Hatch and Ammon Bratt

Ammon Bratt, a former student of David Glen Hatch, is currently a student of Dr. Arthur Greene and is an undergraduate piano performance major at the University of Michigan, School of Music. He has garnered numerous awards in local, state, regional, national and international piano competitions and festivals. Ammon has also been a guest concerto soloist with several orchestras, including a performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the University of Michigan Campus Symphony Orchestra in Hill Auditorium this past April. He has concertized internationally throughout the Ukraine, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sicily and Greece. Ammon is from Provo, Utah. His first performance is a duet with David Glen Hatch: Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 103........Franz Schubert



Solo performances are:
Three Preludes, Op. 28 - No's. 3, 6, 12.... Frederic Chopin
Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)...Mily Balakirev

Greggory Ellis

Greggory Ellis, a local competition winner, 16-year-old pianist has performed internationally in Darmstadt, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg and Salt Lake City. He enjoys playing the piano for charity benefit concerts and sharing his love of music with all who will listen. Greggory is a student of master teacher, David Glen Hatch. He resides in Heber City, Utah. He will play:
Impromptu, Op. 90, No.3.....Franz Schubert  Rhapsody in G Minor....Johannes Brahms




Cortney Pace began her illustrious piano career at age six. Since that time, her prodigious talent has been nurtured by intuitive teachers, including her professional work over several years with David Glen Hatch. A teacher of many students and adjudicator for junior and senior piano competitions, Cortney's international performing experiences include concertizing in Chili, Peru, Greece and Italy. She is pleased to be in South Africa performing for fine audiences at this time. She is playing:
Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66............Frederic Chopin and Liebestraume No.3.........Franz Liszt

David Glen Hatch will be performing: La Semaine Gras by Igor Stravinsky (Piano Transcription from Petroushka - 3rd Movement followed by:

The Finale: Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa (Arrangement for two pianos/eight hands by Mack Wilberg). Playing will be: David Glen Hatch, Lauren Park, Ammon Bratt & Nathan Smith. This is the most amazing thing I have ever heard. The entire evening was terrific with exciting and emotional music, but this number brought the whole crowd to their feet. It was amazing. I wish you could have been there to hear it. What talent and majesty! I felt like God was there.



The one on his website is good, but the four different people playing was even more amazing. You can go here if you would like to listen to some clips from his popular songs. All are great! http://www.davidglenhatch.com/david/music-clips


The concert lasted over two hours with a final standing ovation. Everyone loved it and wanted to talk to the performers afterwards. Lot of programs to be autographed and people to meet. Everyone seemed to enjoy the attention and it was fun seeing the people who were blown away by all performances. What a treat to get to listen to all these amazing pianists. As much hard work as it was to bring this all together, we are so grateful to have been able to follow these talented people around and listen to their magic on the piano keys, but tonight everyone is tired and it is late...so we head back to the hotel and say to all a really good night.