Knysna Music Society was founded in 1959 by Izak Burger. A subscription was 30 shillings for a single member, 50 shillings for a couple, and 10 shillings for a scholar.

Usually there were only two or three concerts a year, with mostly local artists, some of whom played off key! The former CAPAB was involved, until they disbanded in 1996, with sponsorship for these concerts. Ladies wore long dresses and these evenings were very much part of the cultural life of the town, in which there was an Olivian Society, a Dramatic Society and a Choral Society.

Many people have lent their energies and enthusiasm to the music society over the years, Colin Lang, Dorothy Burger, Amanda Vlok, who provided the home away from home for so many visiting artists and who would take to the concerts a Red Riding Hood basket of refreshments for interval, and Louis Mattee, who catered for the physical comforts of the musicians, by laying a rug on the floor and some soft covering for the rather hard benches in the dressing rooms.

Brian Woods from the UK was a driving force in getting a better standard of player and he introduced a gold and silver membership system, whereby silver members paid a lower subscription, but paid the princely sum of R20 a concert on the night. Yohan Fourie took over in 1998 and increased the number of overseas performing artists who came to perform in Knysna, but always with an eye to giving local musicians a platform. He raised the number of concerts a year to six.

In 2005, Aloise Lamprecht took over as Chairperson. She worked tirelessly and with great success, to enlarge the numbers of members and she increased the number of concerts a year to nine and sometimes ten. Her aim and that of the society was to provide the best of Classical Music played by top artists and never to compromise on either, and at the same time to encourage a younger generation to experience the magical world of music.

Penny Smythe-Rathbone was elected as chairperson in 2012.

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Knysa Plett Concert Series 2017:
Feb 1 - Casals String Quartet with Han Jonkers (guitar)
Mar 13 - Andrey Baranov (violin) Maria Baranova (piano)
Mar 29 - Charl du Plessis Trio    
May 8 - Wits Trio
Jun 12 - Lucas Vondracek (piano)
Sep 18 - Jan Hugo (piano)
Oct 23 - Zuill Bailey (cello) Bryan Wallick (piano)
Nov 22 - Operatunity Opera Ensemble

For more details on individual concerts, please consult the What’s On calendar

2016
Feb 22 - Olga Kern (piano)
Mar 14 - Hanli Stapela (soprano) Bryan Wallick (piano)
Apr 20 - Zanta Hofmeyr (violin) Elna van der Merwe (piano)
May 4 - Alexander Ramm (cello) Pieter Jacobs (piano)
Jun 27 - Kristof Barati (violin) Bryan Wallick (piano)
Aug 22 - Willem de Beer (piano)
Sep 26 - Sergei Malov (violin) Peter Martens (cello) Bryan Wallick (piano)
Oct 19 - James Grace (guitar) Bridget Rennie Salonen (flute)
Nov 21 - Jerome Pernoo (cello) Jerome Ducros (piano)

2015:
Feb 9 - The Korngold Project - with Daniel Rowland (Violin), Francesco Sica (Violin), Gareth Lube( Viola), Benjamin Roskams (Viola), Julian Arp ( Cello), Peter Martens( Cello) and Luis Magalhaes (Piano)
Mar 16 - Lukas Vondracek (piano)
Apr 20 - Charl du Plessis Trio
May 18 - Awadagin Pratt (piano)
Jun 8 - Anzel Gerber (cello) & Ben Schoeman (piano)
Aug 5 - Andrew Cruikshank (piano)
Sep 7 - Ben Capps (cello) &  Pieter Grobler (piano)
Oct 21 - Hrachya Avanesyan (violin) & Pieter Jacobs (piano)
Nov 9 - Primakov / Lavrova Piano Duo

2014:
Feb 10 - Suzanne Martens (violin), Peter Martens (cello), Nina Schumann (piano)
Mar 5 - Konstantin Soukhovetski (piano)
Apr 9 - Ching-Yun Hu (piano)
May 19 - Antonio Pompa-Baldi (piano)
Jun 16 - Ilya Gringolts (violin), Peter Laul (piano)
July - no concert
Aug 8 - Cobus du Toit (flute), Patrick Sutton (guitar)
Sep 7 - Rudolf Gindlhumer (flute), Konrad Monsberger (trumpet), Helmut Ascherl (trombone and piano)
Oct 27 - Georgi Anachenko (cello), Anastasya Terenkova (piano)
Nov 17 - Andrei Pisarev (piano)

2013
Feb 11 - The World Orchestra
Mar 20 - Lukas Vondracek (piano)
May 20 - Hrachya Avanesyan (violin) / Pieter Jacobs (piano)
Jun 17 - Vassily Primakov (piano)
Aug 21 - Sergei Malov (violin) / Bryan Wallick (piano)
Sep 4 - Shanghai Brunch ( Charl du Plessis Trio )
Sep 30 - Peter Martens String Quartet
Oct 22 - Jan Hugo (piano)
Nov 19 - Jerome Pernoo (cello) / Jerome Ducros (piano)

2012
Feb 13 -  Mirijam Contzen (violin) / Luis Magalhaes (piano), Amice String Quartet
Mar 22 -  Alexander Lubyantsev (piano)
Apr 14 -  The Mamre Concert (opera ensemble)
May 14 - Alexander Ramm (cello) / Tinus Botha (piano)
May 28 - Spencer Myer (piano)
Jun 27-  Avigail Bushakevitz (violin) / John Theodor (piano)
Aug 20 - Antonio Pompa-Baldi (piano)
Sep 25 - Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt (cello) / Bryan Wallick (piano)
Nov 23 -  Inon Barnaton (piano)

2011     
Jan 31 - Suzanne Martens (violin), Peter Martens (cello), Luis Magalhaes (piano)
Feb 24 - Georgi Anichenko (cello), Anastasya Terenkova (piano)
Mar 28 - Kotaro Fukuma (piano)
Apr 18 - Hemanay Trio
May 25 - Andrey Baranov (violin), Maria Baranova (piano)
Jul 28 -  Andre van Daalen (oboe), Albie van Schalkwyk (piano)
Aug 18 - Dawid Venter (flute), Ben Schoeman (piano)
Sep 07 - Jan Hugo (piano)
Oct 31 -  Peter Bruns (cello), Annegret Kuttner (piano)
Nov 23 -  Bryan Wallick (piano)

2010
Feb 15 - Benjamin Schmid (violin), Peter Martens (cello), Luis Magalhaes (piano)
Mar 15 - Genova/Dimitrov (piano duo)
Apr 27 -  Katya Apekisheva (piano)
May 20 - Grigory Alumyan (cello), Rinko Hama (piano)
Jun 14 -  Chun Wang (piano)
Sep 9 -  Vassily Primakov (piano)
Oct 5 -  Spencer Myer (piano)
Oct 20 - Pria Mitchell (violin), Daniel Rowland (violin), Pieter Jacobs (piano)
Nov 15 - Jerome Pernoo (cello), Jerome Ducros (piano)

The society’s current committee members are:
Penny Smythe-Rathbone (chairlady), Ian Tamaris (treasurer), Judy Steele (secretary), Nadya Loutfie, Marisa Raffinetti and Keith Hollis.

First published 3 October 2012 / Updated 23 Dec 2016