Wouter Kellerman

Bio:

KELLERMAN'S EPK

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Wouter Kellerman’s new album ‘Two Voices’ 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, 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

Inspired by styles and cultures drawn from South Africa and around the world, Colour is a musical journey through African, Latin, jazz and Celtic sounds, with classical inflections. Audiences can prepare to experience an exciting fusion of musical elements and influences emanating from Kellerman's flute.

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Member Since:

April 21, 2007

Members:

THE LAUNCH OF KELLERMAN'S DEBUT ALBUM 'COLOUR'

Influences:

Flute influences are James Galway, William Bennett, Hubert Laws and Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull). African influences are Ladysmith Black Mmabazo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Ismael Lo. South American influences are Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, tango, samba, salsa. Classical: Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Dvorak, Damase. Then I like Flamenco, Celtic and mediterranean music. Others: Cesario Evora, Natalie Cole, Vonda Shepherd, Freshly Ground, Norah Jones, Gypsey Kings, GOTAN project.

Record Label:

Kellerman Music