“80-year-old Benjamin Zander has spent half his life conducting the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra—and now, he’s earned some new international accolades,” writes Alyssa Vaughn in Tuesday’s (9/3) Boston Magazine. “After taking five trips to South Africa for performance, speaking, and teaching engagements, Zander will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ABSA Achievement Awards in Johannesburg on September 8. The event celebrates extraordinary South Africans in the fields of business, the arts, and humanitarian work and community service. Zander will be the first non-South-African recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor previously bestowed upon Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. At the ceremony, he will deliver a speech and conduct the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra…. On one of Zander’s most recent trips to South Africa, he and his partner, Rosamund Zander, led 97 different events in the country, including a keynote speech in Parliament and a performance with the Cape Town Symphony.… ‘Nelson Mandela understood that leadership is like conducting an orchestra—every voice has to be heard,’ Zander said in a Facebook post about the award. ‘He energized hope and inspired South Africans to work together for a harmonious future.’ ”
Posted September 5, 2019
