Vivace Guitar Duo

Vivace Guitar Duo (Gerrit Roos and Jonathan Moolman) perform music composed, transcribed and arranged for two classical guitars.

The classical guitar is an instrument that has managed to find a place for itself in any part of the world it is introduced to and South Africa is no exception. There is a rich heritage of the classical guitar in South Africa and is always growing in popularity amongst music students and listeners of classical music.

The Players

Gerrit and Jonathan both enrolled for the BMus course at The University of Pretoria in 2004 and started practicing as a guitar duo in 2006. Both have passed their Grade 8 exams with distinction, completed their Masters degrees at UP (majoring in guitar performance) and also received Unisa licentiates.

During the completion of their BMus and Mmus degrees in guitar performance at UP studying under the steady guidance of Abri Jordaan, Gerrit and Jonathan have been fortunate to meet and have master classes with leading classical guitarists from all over the world such as Eduardo Fernandez, Victor Villadangos, Marco Tamayo and Anabel Montesinos, Han Jonkers, Andrea Vetoretti, The Zagreb guitar quartet, The Groningen guitar duo and The Amsterdam guitar trio.

During 2008 and 2009, Gerrit and Jonathan have been asked to perform for various organized concerts and functions, and have also given a number of guitar recitals in and around Gauteng, the Eastern and the Western Cape consisting of solo and duo works. They have also performed as a duo in the second round of the Musique-ensemble competition in Stellenbosch. In 2010, they began performing officially as Vivace Guitar Duo.

In 2011 Vivace Guitar Duo released their debut album ‘Two Friends Twelve Strings’ which was met with enthusiasm from radio stations in Gauteng and Cape Town. In its first week of air-play it was announced ‘CD of the week’ on Fine Music Radio and is regularly played on Classic FM. Vivace also was interviewed by Tienie Mans on Radio Pretoria ‘Link’ in September 2011. The CD launch was held at Brooklyn Theatre in September 2011 and was given good reviews ‘ link’.

Vivace was given the opportunity to join Duo Siquera Lima ‘link’ from South America in concert for the Uruguayan bicentennial celebration held at the University of Pretoria.

In November 2011, Vivace collaborated with the Salon music String ensemble to present ‘Granada’.

The Music

The music that makes up Vivace’s varied repertoire consists of works from many types of classical music from all over the world. From Bach transcriptions and Beatles arrangements, to works composed for the classical guitar from the Rennaisance to the present, Vivace Guitar Duo provides a diverse collection of music.

The Instruments

Vivace guitar duo has had the pleasure of experiencing many fine instruments made locally and internationally. Fortunately, South Africa can boast some of the finest guitar luthiers, whose instruments are of world class standard.

The instruments used by Vivace Guitar Duo are custom made by Hans van den Berg. His instruments prove to have superb sound and tone production and exquisite build quality to match that of any international builder.