Walvis Bay pianist Samuel Nel (14) wins prestigious SA competition

Walvis Bay pianist Samuel Nel (14) has been named the winner of this year&#039;s prestigious Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition that took place in Stellenbosch last week.Over four days, 46 young musicians between the ages of seven and 14 were judged over three rounds, with eight finalists going through to the final round on Friday night.This was the fourth year Nel participated in the competition, which netted him a price of just under N$30 000.He won the Johanna van der Spuy Memorial Prize (N$15 000), a gold medal and an invitation to perform as a soloist with the University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra at its opening ceremony in 2025. He may also be invited to the Hugo Lambrechts Concerto Festival next year.Nel also won the prize for the best performance of a baroque work in the first round (Allemande and Courante from the French Suite No 2 by JS Bach), the best performance of a romantic work in the third round (Liebestraum No 3 in A-flat by Liszt), the piano category prize, as well as the best performance of a South African composition.He loves performing in front of an audience and dreams of playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 in the future.Big achieversWhen he is not practicing piano, you will find him on the golf course, and he represented Namibia this year at the All-Africa golf championships.Nel’s younger sister, Juliette, who plays the cello, was also one of the eight finalists. The 11-year-old won prizes amounting to N$5 200, including the category prize as best strings player. Juliette loves to be outside, especially on her paddle board on the lagoon in Walvis Bay, where her dog, Tiger, often joins her on the board. She also enjoys playing the piano and her favourite sport is rhythmic gymnastics. Her dream is to become a concert cellist.The siblings hail from a musical family and have two younger brothers who also play the piano.At 14, Samuel still has enough time to decide about a future career, but what he does know is that there will always be a place for music and golf in his life!The annual competition was organised by the Tygerberg branch of the South African Society of Music Teachers.Professor Hubert van der Spuy is as passionate and enthusiastic as ever about the instrumental competition for young musicians launched in 1989. At the time, Van der Spuy was the head of the music department at the University of the Western Cape, where he inspired young people to become their very best. Since then, the competition has grown into the most prestigious of its kind in South Africa and Namibia.

Walvis Bay pianist Samuel Nel (14) wins prestigious SA competition

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Walvis Bay pianist Samuel Nel (14) wins prestigious SA competition

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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