The well-known and beloved Afrikaans music legend, Jannie du Toit, will be honored at this year’s Aitsa Music Awards for his lifelong contribution to the promotion of Afrikaans music.
The famous opera singer, Mimi Coertse (90), was awarded this Aitsa music award last year. The Aitsa Trust awards it annually to an artist who has pioneered the development of the Afrikaans music industry over a long period of time.
Jannie will receive this honor on 19 September 2023 at the Choose Life Auditorium in Moreleta Park.
“What an honor and wonderful encouragement for the road ahead,” said the “Liedjie vir jou” singer about his award.
His remarkable career spans more than five decades and this song in particular plays a leading role in what would become known as the Music and Lyrics movement of the late seventies.
Part of this movement was song evenings at Jannie’s house with famous friends such as Koos Du Plessis, Coenie de Villiers, Anneli van Rooyen and Lucas Maree.
The Music and Lyrics movement would usher in the new era of original Afrikaans lyrics and melodies, after an era in which translated lyrics from European and other hits dominated the popular Afrikaans music industry.
Although he obtained a law degree at the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg), he left the legal profession in 1981 when prof. Chris Lamprecht appointed him as cultural officer at the University of Pretoria.
In 1984, together with the Tuks84 student group, he created the Loeloeraai musical which was based on the first Afrikaans science fiction story that CJ Langenhoven wrote exactly 100 years ago this year.
He also works with, among others, the Afrikaans “theater diva”, prof. Anna Neethling-Pohl, and was later also appointed to Truk (the Transvaal Council for the Performing Arts) as organizer of light music, where he introduced jazz and cabaret programs and was responsible for “Candlelight, verse and melody”.
Since 1988 he has become better known as a cabaret singer, especially through his performances with Christa Steyn, gifted musician and pianist, in Dutch and Afrikaans cabarets.
There he also collaborated with leading figures in this field, including Ilse van Hemert, Stephan Bouwer and Laurika Rauch.
The distribution of his own CDs led to the creation of JNS Musiek, a company that promoted the interests of less commercial, local music and around 150 local albums by, among others, Coenie de Villiers, Lucas Maree, Amanda Strydom, Mimi Coertse, Werner Nel, the Libertaskoor and Surrendran Reddy released and distributed.
In 2021, Jannie celebrated his illustrious career of fifty years in the Afrikaans music industry with the production, BESTEMmings.
His latest production, Oppiekitaar, was recently launched in collaboration with Pretoria FM in a packed Atterbury Theater in Pretoria.
According to Willie Spies, chairman of the Aitsa Trust, Jannie rewrote the recipe for success for light Afrikaans music over many years, and also proved that if you have the talent and are passionate about music, you will be able to inspire people all over the world for the rest of your life. with outstanding music, which touches the ear and heart, can entertain.
Jannie will end his year on a high note with several remarkable performances.
On 24 September he will perform with the FAK Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Voortrekker Monument’s Heroes’ Hall for a very special Heritage Day concert, entitled The Music of Jannie and Christa.
His new brand new production, Margaret Streetforms part of the jam-packed Momentum Investments Aardklop arts festival while its stage production, The moon through a hole in the nightwill pay tribute to the work of his longtime friend, Marie Tredoux, at the Toyota US Woordfees.
- Tickets for the Aitsa awards evening are available on iTickets at R250 a ticket.
