The Kaleidoscope Music & Arts Festival 2026 is the flagship celebration of the ARCO-PACT Project, a South African initiative empowering young musicians in Prince Albert through world-class string education. This year’s program is a family-friendly, immersive journey through the heart of the Karoo, blending music, dance, poetry, and visual arts.
Over 300 young talents from across the country will take the stage alongside acclaimed artists like Guy Buttery, Derek Gripper, Louise Lansdown, and Anthony Alcock. Featuring performers from the Frank Pietersen Music Centre, and Grey High School, the festival transforms the town’s exquisite venues into a buzzing hub of innovation and cultural exchange.
Come for the music, stay for the local hospitality, and experience a truly South African artistic feast.
Key People
Louise Lansdown
Festival Founder / Creator
Louise is the founder of the Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competition launched at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2014, and is now Executive Artistic Director of both the Lionel Tertis and Cecil Aronowitz International Viola Competitions.
Louise, along with her viola students and colleagues is the founder of a major distance learning education project called ARCO. It is based in Prince Albert, South Africa and Chennai, India. Louise’s first solo album, Mzansi Viola was released in May 2025 along with a 7-part documentary “Cinderella No More: The English Viola Legacy” she created with violist Timothy Ridout. Louise is writing a book “Hindemith and the Viola” that will soon be published by Schott. Louise is the Principal Violist of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the South African Ubuntu Ensemble. She plays on a French Viola c.1750 and Sartory how which belonged to the South African violists Cecil Aronowitz and Eric Rycroft. Her second solo album of South African viola music will be released in 2026.
Anthony Alcock
Festival Founder / Creator
Tony is Section Leader Double Bass with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (since 2016), having previously held principal and section leader roles with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, and Scottish Opera. He has worked with many of the world’s leading conductors and soloists, performed at major international festivals and venues, and appeared as Guest Principal with all the London orchestras.
His solo work includes concerto and recital performances for BBC Radio 3 and Radio Scotland, with recordings of works by Bottesini, Vanhal, McGuire, Glyn and Koussevitsky, alongside new commissions written for him.
Educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Thomas Martin, Tony played with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the European Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado. He now teaches at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and has also taught at Chetham’s, RSAMD, Guildhall and the Royal College of Music.
He plays distinguished English and Italian instruments, contributes to publications, and has been commended for recital and masterclass work in The Strad and The Double Bassist. Beyond music, Tony is a trained life coach, keen singer, Alexander Technique student, poet, and songwriter. He is also a proud father of four and young grandfather.
Carla Ferreira
Fundraiser
Carla Ferreira is a clarinettist with a passion for promoting contemporary clarinet repertoire. She is an active freelancer, educator and a passionate arts activist.
She obtained a Bachelor’s in Music, under the tutelage of Maria du Toit-Tien, specializing in clarinet performance, at Stellenbosch University with Cum Laude in 2013 for which she also received the Rector’s Award for Academic Excellence. Whilst studying towards this degree she completed her UNISA Licentiate in Clarinet Performance with Cum Laude in 2012. In 2015 she was identified as one of South Africa’s top young classical artists and subsequently invited to appear as soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra in celebration of 20-years of democracy in the country.
She continued her postgraduate studies in clarinet performance with a Master’s in Music, under the tutelage of Jimmy Reinders, at Stellenbosch University (2016). Alongside her practical modules, her thesis formed the first academic study on the life and work on South African composer and pianist Surendran Reddy.
In 2017 she obtained a second MMus degree, under the tutelage of Eddy Vanoosthuyse, at the Royal Conservatory of Liége (Belgium) with Grande Distinction performing Karlheinz Stockhauzen’s Der Kleine Harlekein as her final performance project. She was awarded a scholarship for ‘The class of clarinet’ from A.S.B.L. Association des Concerts Permanents’ (Wallonia Province of Belgium).
During her two-year studies in Belgium, she worked closely with various composers constantly exploring new sound worlds and pushing the limits of extended techniques. She wishes to continue this exploration through her newly launched blog The Contemporary Clarinet.
William Fourie
Artistic Committee
William Fourie is a senior lecturer in Rhodes University’s Department of Music and Musicology. He holds a PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London and a Master’s Degree in Musicology from Merton College, University of Oxford. His work straddles disciplines such as musicology, decolonial theory, science and technology studies, critical theory, and hermeneutics. While much of his earlier research focused on reading issues of modernity through music, he is now also concerned with the technological mediation and specifically how this is understood in the context of the sound archive. He has published articles in a number of important journals and currently serves as the Vice-Chairperson of the South African Society for Research in Music and the chair of their scientific committee. William also engages regularly with experimental music festivals and was the curator for the 2016 Unyazi electronic music festival.
Kathleen Tagg
Artistic Committee
Kathleen is a New York-based pianist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer from South Africa. She has performed throughout North America, Europe, Southern Africa, China and India in venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, and her recordings have been featured in film and television. Her work and compositions focus on identity, ideas of connection and sound exploration, and has been heard on five continents, from the Lucerne Festival & Festival Aix-En-Provence to the Melbourne Opera House, South African National Arts Festival to the Köln Philharmonie and the USA’s National Gallery. She is equally at home performing with an array of instrumentalists and singers in leading concert halls; in non-conventional spaces and clubs with her loops and samples; writing for her own projects and collaborations; completing commissions for artists or symphony orchestras; creating narrative immersive interdisciplinary performance works or writing for film and theater. All of her projects reflect her strong desire to connect as a human being first and foremost, and to constantly engage with the world around her. She is co-artistic director of Table Pounding Music with David Krakauer, a platform for a wide range of projects, recordings and socially focused benefit events. Kathleen is a former steering committee of the Music Workers Alliance.
Jan-Hendrik Harley
Artistic Committee
Jan-Hendrik Harley is a South African composer, performer, and educator based in Gqeberha. His work engages composition as a form of practice-based research, exploring how collaborative listening, rehearsal processes, and technological mediation shape musical decision-making. His music has been performed across Africa, Europe, and North America, with recent highlights including performances at Wigmore Hall and the International Society of Bassists Convention.
Alongside his work in chamber and orchestral composition, he is active in film scoring, studio production, and historical performance practice. He has presented his research at international conferences, including the International Viola Congress in Paris, and his doctoral work at Rhodes University investigates the role of performer interaction in shaping compositional processes.
Harley is also an experienced educator, teaching instrumental performance, composition, and audio production, and contributing to curriculum development in South Africa.
Monique Erlank
Public Relations
Monique Erlank is the founder of Roux Reklame, a boutique communications agency specialising in wine, food, lifestyle and tourism.
Her work centres on shaping authentic narratives that connect brands with both media and audiences in a meaningful, lasting way.
Roux Reklame offers a hands-on, strategic approach to public relations. Known for her ability to balance big-picture thinking with detail-driven execution, Monique works closely with clients to build visibility, credibility and long-term brand value.
Johann Olivier
Online Assets & Design
With a career rooted in the disciplined world of fine wine, Johann brings a unique perspective to the digital and graphic design requirements of the Kaleidoscope Music & Arts Festival. His journey began in the wine industry, where a deep-seated passion for viticulture led them to qualify as a professional sommelier. This path eventually led to the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, where he had the honour of serving as the Vice Echanson for the Baillage du Cap from 2017 to 2019.
What started as a personal interest in design back in 2012 gradually evolved into a professional calling. Driven by a desire to merge an eye for detail with creative storytelling, he retrained and formally launched JP Designs in 2021.
Today, Johann specializes in web and graphic design, creating elegant, functional, and visually compelling brand identities. Whether crafting a digital interface or a piece of print media, he applies the same dedication to quality and sophisticated flair that defined his years in the world of luxury hospitality and wine tourism.
ARCO-PACT Strings Project
Since 2023 Louise and Tony have been working on integrating the ARCO Project into the fabric of Prince Albert with the indispensable support from the Prince Albert Community Trust (PACT) from the get go. ARCO is a string teaching music education project that was based in Soweto since 2015 until early 2024.
It has now moved its base to Prince Albert where it is providing instrumental tuition on violin, viola, cello and double bass to over 100 children between the ages of 4-13 across schools in Prince Albert. ARCO has fundraised to bring over 70 instruments and other accessories from the UK, as well as facilitating UK graduate and cellist Elliot Tingley coming to live in Prince Albert to kickstart the project on the ground in 2025. From January 2026 ARCO has a new title to reflect its partnership with PACT. The ARCO-PACT Strings Project appointed full-time string teacher Tiaan Uys, PACT inter Aiden Stalmeester as assisatnt and Ben Oosthuizen and Danie Verster as theory, music appreciation and singing teachers.
ARCO instrument collection is housed at the PACT Youth Centre, managed and owned by PACT Youth Staff. Teaching takes place at the PACT Youth Centre in North End, Prince Albert Primary School and The Showroom, managed and owned by PACT Youth Staff. Kaleidoscope has been created to support and promote the development of young musicians across South Africa. The 2026 iteration provides a concert platform, coaching and side-by-side opportunities for more than 300 young musicians.
Kaleidoscope also acts as fundraising mechanism for the ARCO-PACT Strings Project which is a recognised NPC in South Africa. Every penny that is made in this festival will go directly to support the ARCO Project and its work in this magical Karoo community. You will hear the sounds of the ARCO students in the very first concert of the festival. The power of music to transform lives cannot be underestimated!
Experience Music & Arts in Prince Albert
Bring your family and friends and come and indulge in glorious music, food, natural beauty and contribute to the cultural well-being of a community that is empowering and creating a future for its youth.
