People of Note

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY PIETER TOERIEN PRODUCTIONS. People of Note is broadcast on Sunday evening at 6 pm on Fine Music Radio with a repeat on Thusday afternoon at 1 pm, presented by Rodney Trudgeon.

Says Rodney: “There are a number of fascinating people who pass through Cape Town and I’ve always felt there to be a need for a programme that allows an in-depth discussion with these personalities. Whether their fields are music, literature, theatre, dance, opera or even politics and economics, we’ll invite them into the studio to talk about their lives, inspirations and role models, among other things.
“Rather like the famous BBC programme, Desert Island Discs, I’ll ask my guests to bring with them their six or seven favourite pieces of music to share with us.”

Among the long list of guests on the programme so far have been people such as Rhoda Kadalie, Lord Robin Renwick, Petronel Malan, Pieter Dirk Uys, Ruby Wax, Jonathan Roxmouth, Imam Rashied Omar and many more.
Weekly English South Africa TV & Film
407 Episodes
1 – 20

People of Note - Sarita Stern

People of Note this week takes the form of a tribute to one of South Africa’s most distinguished singers and singing teachers. A year ago Rodney Trudgeon spoke to Sarita Stern about her long career and about her recently published book. Sarita died recently and so we’ve decided to rebroadcast…
17 Nov 57 min

People of Note - Braam Du Toit

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is the young South African composer Braam Du Toit. Braam is also a choral conductor and is the recipient of a number of awards and accolades He stated he has "always been interested in combining music with other art forms," and…
9 Nov 58 min

People of Note - Kate Normington

An exciting new play has opened at the Theatre on the Bay. It’s called My Brilliant Divorce, written by Geraldine Aron and stars Kate Normington. It’s a one woman show during which Kate has to take many other parts and it’s described as a tragic/comic exploration in the world of…
3 Nov 58 min

People of Note - Maria Du Toit

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is Maria Du Toit, the South African and also now Dutch clarinettist who is internationally in demand as a soloi8st and Chamber musician. Maria was principal clarinet with the Cape Philharmonic, before marrying the Dutch conductor Arjan Tien and moving to…
27 Oct 57 min

People of Note - Jannie Du Toit

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is a man who is something of an institution in Afrikaans music. Jannie Du Toit is a singer songwriter who has had a long and distinguished career in the world of music. He enjoyed a 25 year collaboration with the accompanist…
20 Oct 58 min

People of Note - Diane Van Schoor

A new ballet company here in Cape Town is called Cape Ballet Africa and they’ve just had their inaugural season at the Baxter called SALT. Diane van Schoor has been appointed Guest Teacher and Patron of the new company and she brings a life of experience as a ballet dancer…
13 Oct 58 min

People of Note - Clive Ridgway

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is Clive Ridgway who is a songwriter, musician, music producer, author and teacher. He has composed songs for many of South Africa’s most successful recording artists and has performed both locally and internationally. He also runs the Cape Town School of…
6 Oct 58 min

People of Note - David Kramer

David Kramer’s hugely successful musical Orpheus in Africa is being repeated at the Artscape Theatre and David has reworked it to be produced with Cape Town Opera. It’s now called Orpheus McAdoo and stars Brittany Smith and Conroy Scott with the Cape Town Opera Chorus and opens on 18 October…
29 Sep 58 min

People of Note - Garth Chilvers

A book which is proving to be invaluable to lovers of contemporary music in South Africa is called History of Contemporary Music of South Africa. Similar to an encyclopaedia, the book has a wealth of information on artists, bands, composers and performers with many photographs. It was written by Garth…
22 Sep 58 min

People of Note - James Loock and Jenny Perold

The fascinating way our ears operate is the subject of this week’s People of Note. I’ll be talking to James Loock, Professor of ENT at Tygerberg Hospital, and Jenny Perold an audiologist also at Tygerberg about the remarkable technology of Cochlear Implants, that allows severely and profoundly deaf people to…
15 Sep 58 min

People of Note - Arjan Tien

Four of the concerts in the current symphony season with the Cape Town Philharmonic are being conducted by the Dutch conductor Arjan Tien. Arjan is no stranger to South Africa and, apart from the concerts he’s conducting, he is one of the judges of the 6th SA Conductor’s Competition. Arjan…
8 Sep 57 min

People of Note - Jeremy Silver

Opera UCT is going to be the first opera company in the world to present a fully staged performance of a lost opera by Donizetti, Dalinda. The score was only discovered in 2019 and has been meticulously reconstructed As my guest on People of Note this week, the conductor Jeremy…
1 Sep 50 min

People of Note - Gordan Oliver

I wonder if you remember the name Gordon Oliver. Among other things he was Mayor of Cape Town from 1989 to 1991 during which he was privileged to welcome Nelson Mandela to the Cape Town City Hall the day he was released from prison. He also took part in the…
25 Aug 58 min

People of Note - Adele Kirsten

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is Adele Kirsten, who is the director of a Gun Free South Africa. Adele was a founding member of Gun Free South Africa, but she has been a non-violent, social justice activist in South Africa for some 40 years and has…
17 Aug 58 min

People of Note - Prof Christopher Weare

Tennessee Williams’s famous play, A Street Car Named Desire will open at the Theatre on the Bay on the 14th August. It is being presented by Lamta – The Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy who’s recent success with Spring Awakening brought the amazing success story of this company to a…
11 Aug 58 min

People of Note - Alene Mari Holder

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is a South African academic currently working in Norway. Alene Mari Holder is a writer, musicologist and opera singer and her interests include feminist studies of 17th and 18th Century opera including the operatic trouser role tradition and on cross gender…
4 Aug 58 min

People of Note - Alastair Cockburn

One of the most dramatic of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas is The Yeoman of The Guard, which is set in the Tower of London in the 16th Century. It was premiered in London in 1888 and ran for a record 423 performances causing it to be called a…
26 Jul 57 min

People of Note - Sharon Spiegel Wagner

Agatha Christie’s play Witness to the Prosecution is pulling in the crowds at Theatre on the Bay. And rightly so because not only is it a superb play, but it is an excellent production with a large cast. In this week’s edition of People of Note, Rodney Trudgeon spoke to…
21 Jul 57 min

People of Note - Matthew Wilman

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is the South African based documentary photographer, author and professional speaker Matthew Wilman who, in 2003 was commissioned to archive and document the life and times of Nelson Mandela for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. This allowed him to develop an intimate…
14 Jul 58 min

People of Note - Alistair Mcalpine

My guest on People of Note this week, is a doctor who has written a book called Ice Cream – A Doctor’s Journey to Discover what Matters. This is an engaging memoir about the highs and lows of working as a medical doctor in South Africa and how, with a…
7 Jul 58 min
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