Wouter Kellerman may not be a name you have heard of, but if you like great music you should.

Wouter Kellerman two time winner of the South African Music Awards (SAMA) including 2010 best instrumental DVD Jazz/Classical/Pop.  The SAMA is their equivalent of our Grammy Award.

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Wouter’s music has so many flavors, but is all wonderful, from slowly haunting tunes, African beats, Island grooves, Irish Marches and even urban rapping…

I had to drive Los Angeles traffic after hearing one tune by Wouter (pronounced Voter). I like music so I was happy to cover a musician, but was I in for a surprise. The venue was the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA. Very small and very Hollywood.

The concert was very intimate and Wouter was way too big for that room. His band tore up the stage. It started slow and he just kept it growing and growing and I was taken back to Ian Anderson, John Mayal scatting, and more and more..

Wouter and his band hung out afterwords and I got a chance to meet with them. If I was on the road with a band.. These would be the people I would choose. Nice, easy and talented. Thank you Wouter for taking the time to interview with me as I know you had another appointment to get to… . – JW

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Wouter Kellerman

Wouter Kellerman’s new album ‘Two Voices’ won the 2011 SAMA (South African Music Award, the SA equivalent of the Grammy) for ‘Best Instrumental Album’,  and reinforces his status as one of South Africa’s foremost flautists. A true crossover artist, he thrives on experimenting with the shades, textures and colours that his magic flute is capable of painting, and creatively blending this with other instrumentation and vocal sounds.

Watch Wouter Kellerman Music Videos 

The SAMA-winning flute wizard, who performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony to a global television audience of 700-million people, has spent the past couple of years cooking up several potent compositions with an array of top South African and African artists – and ‘Two Voices’ is the result.

His debut album, ‘Colour’, enjoyed rave reviews, topped the charts and was nominated for a 2008 South African Music Awards for ‘Best Instrumental Album’.

His show ‘Kellerman Colour Live’ won the 2010 SAMA (South African Music Award) for ‘Best Jazz/Instrumental/Popular Classical DVD’.

Kellerman demonstrates in his shows why he is regarded as one of the country’s most musically adventurous world-music proponents, who keeps his sound fresh and progressive by incorporating a fusion of influences and styles into his music with vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers to create a fresh and exhilarating performance. He has been travelling extensively over the last two years, performing all over the world in places like Berlin, Shanghai, New York and Sydney.

2010 highlights include performing at the opening of MIDEM in Cannes, France. MIDEM is the world’s biggest music conference and festival and Kellerman was part of a Department of Arts and Culture delegation, representing South Africa. In March he travelled to the USA to perform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, in Texas. SXSW is the biggest music festival in the USA.

In July Kellerman performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony. Concerts in the last few months included performing at the 2010 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival in Johannesburg and two performances at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, China.

Wouter’s flute-playing can be heard on the soundtrack of the Emmy Award-winning film ‘Eye of the Leopard’. His albums ‘Colour’ and ‘Two Voices’ were mixed in Los Angeles by Grammy-winning engineer Husky Hoskulds.

Passionate about teaching and empowering young people, Kellerman has sponsored the living expenses of 10 children in the SOS Children’s Village in Ennerdale for the past 14 years, and has also financed the building of a house in the SOS Children’s Village in Rustenburg. For his continued efforts in helping give these children a better life, Kellerman was nominated by the SOS Children’s Villages for the Inyathelo Special Recognition Award for Philanthropy. He continues to facilitate the teaching of young dance and music students.

Wouter Kellerman started playing the flute at the age of 10, and in 1981 appeared as a soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. He went on to feature in several South African orchestras, scooping musical accolades along the way. Among these was winning the Perrenoud Foundation Prize during the 1997 Vienna International Music Competition.

Using his classical training as a foundation, Kellerman focused his attention on world music, exploring the versatility of the instrument and fusing classical and contemporary sounds, resulting in a potent and thrilling musical encounter. Kellerman is taking his crossover world music to a global audience, having gained a solid following in South Africa. He has already released the album in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and most recently in Australia, where he combined his release with a nationwide tour, which included a support slot on Johnny Clegg’s Down Under tour.

Wouter Kellerman Discography

Two Voices

Wouter Kellerman’s new album ‘Two Voices’ won the 2011 SAMA (South African Music Award, the SA equivalent of the Grammy) for ‘Best Instrumental Album’,  and reinforces his status as one of South Africa’s foremost flautists. A true crossover artist, he thrives on experimenting with the shades, textures and colours that his magic flute is capable of painting, and creatively blending this with other instrumentation and vocal sounds.

The SAMA-winning flute wizard, who performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony to a global television audience of 700-million people, has spent the past couple of years cooking up several potent compositions with an array of top South African and African artists – and ‘Two Voices’ is the result.

His debut album, ‘Colour’, enjoyed rave reviews, topped the charts and was nominated for a 2008 South African Music Awards for ‘Best Instrumental Album’.

His show ‘Kellerman Colour Live’ won the 2010 SAMA (South African Music Award) for ‘Best Jazz/Instrumental/Popular Classical DVD’.

Kellerman demonstrates in his shows why he is regarded as one of the country’s most musically adventurous world-music proponents, who keeps his sound fresh and progressive by incorporating a fusion of influences and styles into his music with vocalists,

Colour

From Harmonious Living Reviewed by Ceri Balston

South Africa’s premier flautist Kellerman (aka Wouter Kellerman) brings us his long awaited debut album, ‘Colour’. From the very first note this is one of those CDs that you just know will be glued to your CD player for months to come. Relaxing, fun, soulful and joyful throughout ‘Colour’ is destined to be a timeless classic.

You can tell that one of Kellerman’s passions, apart from music, is for the vibrant and diverse cultures that cover our world. Throughout the album he joyfully explores his own South African heritage (and Akrikaans roots in the final track ‘Al Le Die Berge’), as well as delving into the rich and passionate world of the Argentinean Tango, whilst Spanish and Irish themes also abound.

Highlight tracks include the beautifully seductive and sultry tango ‘Vuelvo al Sur’ which just oozes with South American passion, ‘Told U So’ a lively and cheeky South African number and ‘Quisas, quisas, quisas’ the Lila Downs song made popular by the film Tortilla Soup. Having chosen those tracks I do have to say that every time I listen to ‘Colour’ I keep changing my mind about my favourites, the CD is just that good with tracks appropriate for all times and moods.

SOS Children’s Village

What They Do

At SOS Children’s Villages we believe that children can only develop to their full potential if they have a supportive and protective family environment.  We work to make this a reality. 

At the centre of our SOS Children’s Villages programme is the individual child. We encourage children to actively take part in the making of decisions that affect their lives.

Preventing crisis leading to family separation

We work with disadvantaged families in order to prevent crises that can lead to family separation. We offer various forms of support to strengthen and stabilise families as much as possible so that children can grow up in their own families. The aim is always to build the skills and capacities of carers and of their communities so that children can enjoy positive and caring relationships.

Strengthening SOS families and foster families

We also strengthen SOS families and foster families, which provide stable and consistent care to children who cannot remain in their family of origin, and for whom family-based care is considered the best option. Short-term solutions may be offered in crisis situations.

Whether located all together or dispersed within a community, SOS families provide individualised care and promote the development, education and health of each child. We work together with communities to develop and improve local education and health infrastructure. In some cases SOS Children’s Villages runs kindergartens, day-care centres, schools and vocational training centres, as well as medical centres.

A leading voice for children

Building on our experience, we are also a leading voice for children who have lost their parent or whose parents cannot care for them.  We aim to make a change that will improve the lives and living conditions of all these children, their families and their communities.

SOS Children’s Villages is active in 133 countries and territories. The variety of this international work is brought together by the umbrella organisation SOS Children’s Villages International, which unites all of the autonomous national associations.

In all countries where SOS Children’s Villages operates, the aim is to form a national association which is its own legal entity, with its own statutes and Board of Directors. Common for all of them is membership of the international umbrella association and the fact that their Board of Directors work on an honorary basis. Each member association is obliged to comply with the international statute of the organisation. Practices in relation to education, child-care, financ and administration are also common to all member associations.

Each national association is registered and organised as a foundation, trust, association, non-profit company or society. As a full member of SOS Children’s Villages International, they have the right to apply for funding through the umbrella association and request services from the General Secretariat.

Links

Wouter Kellerman Website
SOS Childrens Village

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Wouter Kellerman Talks to On Purpose Magazine