03.12.2015  The South African cellist, Tobias Kotze, has been appointed as the principal cellist of the Accademia di Orchestra La Scala in Milan, Italy.

Kotze, who hails from Hermanus, was one of more than 40 international candidates who applied for the coveted position. Applicants for the position of principal cellist were required to audition which involved the performance of a first movement of a cello concert, a work for solo cello, as well as 12 extracts from orchestral works. After the auditions the candidates were interviewed and Kotze scored the highest in all categories.

Kotze studied at the University of Stellenbosch with Dalena Roux as his cello teacher and continued his cello studies in Europe under the guidance of Mattia Zappa and Taisuke Yamashita. He is currently working on his master’s degree at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland.

In 2014 he was invited to a master class by the famous cellist Wen-Sinn Yang of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, Germany. Earlier this year he was also selected as principal cellist of the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana Orchestra.

Kotze’s contract with the La Scala Academy Orchestra includes a concert with the Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, as well as tours to Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America..

His first performance as principal cellist of the La Scala Academy Orchestra will be on 6 December for Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.