Charl du Plessis rose to fame when he was the youngest pianist in Africa to be named a Steinway Artist. He has since embarked on an international career working simultaneously as classical and jazz and has illuminated the music from Bach to Billie Joel for a new generation of listeners.
After debut performances in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Berlin’s Filharmonie (with Chick Corea) and Shanghai’s Oriental Arts Centre, Charl du Plessis became the first pianist ever to perform on top of Table Mountain in 2017 and was invited with fellow Steinway Artist Lang Lang to perform at the opening of Steinway Hall, Beijing. Concert tours to the USA, Europe and the Far-East has contributed to the press hailing Du Plessis as a “cult pianist” an “edu-tainer” and a pianist with “x-factor".
Since making the decision to establish his own jazz trio in 2006, Charl du Plessis has alerted audiences to the complexities and capabilities of combining jazz and classic music. This trio has won two SAMA, a Ghoema and Fiësta Award and have performed at major international festivals.
For the past 18 years he has performed in more than 60 concerts per year with singer and iconic South African entertainer Nataniël.
Charl du Plessis lives in Pretoria, South Africa and has spent the first part of his life, dividing his time between concert life, chamber music and, over the last 12 years, a teaching position at the University of Pretoria. He performs more than 130 concerts per season and pursues a comprehensive approach to the musical profession, organising his own management, recording under his own independent label and more recently Claves Records, Switzerland. He has released 9 CD and 2 DVD recordings.
He studied with master piano teacher Joseph Stanford at the University of Pretoria and was the first student ever to complete a doctoral performance degree specializing simultaneously in classical and jazz piano. He also studied with well-known musicians, including György Sebök in Ernen, Switzerland, Dan Hearle and Stefan Karlsson at the University of North Texas, USA and Ulrich Koellah at the Musikhochschule Winterthur Zurich, Switzerland. He has been the recipient of major prizes at International Scholarship Competitions of the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO).
Charl is set to perform with the FSSO together with Albie Van Schalkwyknext week Saturday at a special concert where they will play Mozart's #PianoConcertoFor2Pianos side by side.
Tickets are on sale at Computicket for R150!
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