The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company (JYOC) is a resident company of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) following the recent signing of a three-way agreement between the University, JYOC and the POPCRU Group of Companies (PGC).
“Through giving young people opportunities to learn, create and participate in music making, the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra builds young people’s internal capacity to reach their potential. JYOC forms an integral part of the UJ Arts & Culture music programme, underscoring the development agenda at the core of all our work,” said Executive Director of UJ’s Division of Institutional Advancement, Mr Kerry Swift.
Since its inception in 1998, the JYOC has been based at the Wits School of Education in Parktown. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UJ in 2012 saw JYOC appointed as a resident company of the UJ Arts & Culture and they were allocated premises for their exclusive use on UJ’s Bunting Road Campus in Auckland Park. The building, formerly a hostel kitchen, required significant refurbishment to make it fit for purpose and earlier this year, Workerslife, a subsidiary of the PGC, was secured as the anchor donor for the refurbishment, pledging a total of R3 million to complete the project.
“This is truly a dream realised,” said CEO of JYOC, Susan Rendall, who acknowledged Swift for his role in brokering the relationship with UJ saying: “Kerry dreamed this dream a long time ago. The timing could not have been better in terms of the life of JYOC and the integration with UJ Arts & Culture, especially given the precarious economic climate. It is extraordinary and extremely encouraging that a company like the PGC recognises the value of investing in JYOC which ultimately creates the space for us to continue changing lives. The JYOC wishes to express its deepest gratitude to PGC and to UJ for their respective, generous and significant contributions to this exciting development.”
