Visitors to this year’s Splashy Fen Music Festival can look forward to enchanting tales and musical discovery with Pedro the Music Man.

Known to many as Pedro the Music Man from his long-running 1990s SABC TV series of the same name, accomplished musician, performer, composer and storyteller Pedro Espi-Sanchis is set to enthral young and old audiences alike at this year’s Splashy Fen Music Festival, taking place near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal from April 21 to 25.

Story-telling shows for children
A masterful storyteller, Espi-Sanchis tells enchanting tales of musical discovery that introduce children to an array of indigenous African instruments. For example, one of his stories revolves around a crafty rabbit who gets the better of a boy who wants to be a hunter, by persuading him to turn his bow and arrow into a musical instrument.

Then there’s the one about the smallest boy in a village, who discovers an instrument that gives him the biggest voice of all – and no, it’s not the vuvuzela! In yet another story, Espi-Sanchis introduces the magical lekgodilo, the world’s first flute, made from dry kelp found on the beach.

Especially entertaining is the way in which Espi-Sanchis improvises and creates different string, wind and percussion instruments out of the most unlikely materials, such as plastic piping, which he then proceeds to play with virtuoso mastery.

These great storytelling shows will be staged in Splashy Fen’s Children’s Centre, which is open from 9am to 4pm each day and is situated close to the family campsite. Here, for no charge, children will be cared for and entertained with a variety of Easter art and craft activities, as well as construction toys, DVDs, interactive drumming, movement education and exciting live shows. The centre also offers a child-minding service from 7pm to 10pm, leaving parents free to watch the evening acts.

Shows for people of all ages
Espi-Sanchis will also perform to a wider audience in the Grant Erskine Marquee. On Friday, April 22 he will showcase a number of different music cultures in a set that includes songs from Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Zimbabwe, the soulful lyrics accompanied by guitar, mbira and the lekgodilo flute.

On Saturday, April 23 he will conduct a workshop inspired by ancient African pipe ensembles, where each participant has only a single pipe to play, producing just one note, in a musical representation of the ubuntu philosophy. Using this ‘one person, one note’ concept, the group will reproduce traditional harmonies in a highly interactive and fun way, with unbelievable results.

Born in Spain and educated in France, Espi-Sanchis arrived in South Africa as a professional musician at the age of 19. It was then that he first got a taste for African music, and so began a lifelong career in this field, which has seen him go on to establish a traditional African music curriculum at the Giyani College of Education in Limpopo, lecture at UCT’s College of Music, and run teacher-training programmes across southern Africa and internationally.

Espi-Sanchis has also performed at events around the world, including the Womad and Bath Festivals in the UK. Another of his recent projects was the Vuvuzela Orchestra, which created a link between music education and the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Supported by East Coast Radio and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, this year’s Splashy Fen Music Festival will also see more than 90 top live music acts on two stages, a comedy tent and vibrant new Freestyle Tribal Village, as well as a wide variety of food and drink outlets, arts and crafts, and loads of fun outdoor activities for the whole family.

Tickets cost R500 at Computicket and selected Game stores. The price includes camping for the entire festival.
...more info >>