Swakopmunder Musikwoche returns

Despite a challenging year filled with financial and social uncertainties, the organisers of the annual Swakopmunder Musikwoche have officially announced the event’s return this December.

The music week will continue its longstanding tradition of offering musical training to young Namibians.

“We have experienced a turbulent and uncertain 2023, but now it is certain: The Swakopmunder Musikwoche will take place again this year,” says Lynette van Niekerk of the Swakopmunder Musikwoche committee.

“Due to financial constraints in particular, we had to adapt the music week enormously to the circumstances. But now we are very happy to announce that we can continue to live up to our claim of offering further musical training to young Namibians.”

Bank Windhoek has stepped in to sponsor the event with an amount of N$100 000, ensuring that the event can proceed.

The Swakopmunder Musikwoche will be exclusively offered to children and young people between the ages of 9 and 25, covering a period of seven days.

It will feature a lecturer’s concert and two concert evenings on 13, 15 and 16 December in the hall of Namib Primary School.

A ‘sundowner concert’ is also in the plans at the Prinzessin Rupprecht Heim (old-age home).

Those interested in participating can register online through the event’s website, or request a registration form via email at SwakopMusikwoche@gmail.com

Founded in 1965, the Swakopmunder Musikwoche has evolved to serve as a platform for musicians in Namibia, focused on capacity building and education.

The event aims to “provide a music educational service for pupils and educators of Namibia, to build capacity and know-how at all levels of the music education sector,” according to its mission statement.

The event typically holds five concerts each year, with the finale being a music church service at the Lutheran Church at Swakopmund.

Participants, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds across Namibia, will gain invaluable musical skills, social abilities and the chance to perform in a large orchestra setting.