Date Added : 20th July 2010
Kingswood College music teachers Boris Mohr and Dario Broccardo were invited to play at the “Grand Finale” concert preceding the World Cup Final at the Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg. The concert, held as a fundraiser for projects fighting malaria in Africa featured big names like Bryan Adams, Nianell, Pretty Yende, Andrea Griminelli and others, but the main star was blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Mohr and Broccardo played in the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra for which Broccardo often played before moving to Grahamstown. The concert was conducted by music maestro Marcello Rota. Broccardo said, “As far as gigs go, this was one the BIG ones. Any musician in the world, in any country, would talk about having been part of such an event for a long time. Working with such celebrities and professional members of crew is an experience to cherish and bring home to Grahamstown to share with my students.” While the concert was not broadcast in full in SA, it was broadcast in snippets across the world, and Mohr and Broccardo have been contacted by colleagues and friends from all over who saw their performance. Mohr said, “We were thrilled to have been afforded this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is not something that happens every day and we can say we were a part of it”. Broccardo played timpani and Mohr the French horn in the orchestra.
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Kingswood music teachers Dario Broccardo (second left) and Boris Mohr (far right) with blind opera star Andrea Bocelli (second right) and other musicians from the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra that played at the World Cup Final “Grand Finale” concert.