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Internationally acclaimed musicians are about to descend on Plettenberg Bay as the annual Plett Music Festival kicks off this week.
Not only is the festival a boost for the local economy which relies heavily on seasonal tourism, but also serves as a community upliftment tool.
Event organiser Ann Fermor said the festival, which starts on Thursday (February 13) at the White House in town, was always well supported and drew many international visitors. "Thursday's performance by saxophonist Andrew Young is already just about sold out and last year he also performed for a full-house," Fermor said.
"Music-lovers come from far to support the event, so it really puts Plettenberg Bay on the map and is a boost to the local economy."
All the proceeds of the festival is also donated to the Kids of Kurland charity and used to place teachers in schools in the Kurland village, a rural township in the Crags area outside Plett.
The Kids Of Kurland School Project was established in 2001 to help the children in the community and currently employs two teachers, a special needs teacher and a part time social worker.
Among the musicians who will be performing during the festival which runs until Sunday (February 16) includes Liverpool-born Young who started playing the saxophone at the age of eight. He is an internationally renowned recording and performing artist who has worked along artists such as Dionne Warwick, Shirley Bassey and Johnathan Butler and has performed for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles at the Royal Festival Hall.
He will be performing on Thursday along with a six-piece band.
Joining him at the festival is South Africa's leading electric cellist Carol Thoms whose solo cello album Fireflies in the Rain was nominated for Best Instrumental Album 2010 at the South African Music Awards.
The event is near to her heart as she gives six charity performances every year and prefers to support those involved in health and education.
She will be performing with harpist Shelley Frost, who will be coming all the way from Dubai for the concert.
Former University of Cape Town graduate and principal harpist with the Natal Philharmonic, Frost pursued her post-graduate study in Lyon, France. Since then she has performed alongside some of the biggest names in die industry including Jose Carerra and rapper Kanye West.
Other artists performing at the festival include The Swing Setters - an eight-piece Cape Town band - as well as the Rick van Heerden quartet.
