The fact that I was a learner at Hoërskool Rustenburg between 2002 and 2006 shaped much of my musical development and career of today. It was in high school where the music teacher, Mrs Louise Vermaak, gave me my first proper piano and music theory lessons. She gave us the necessary exposure to a wide repertoire and provided us with opportunities to attend concerts and music competitions. For me, one of the best opportunities was when she convinced the headmaster that I will be able to accompany assembly on the piano. By the second assembly, I had another student playing a descant of a hymn on the flute and less than six months later I found myself arranging music for a mixed ensemble of about ten players. Mrs Vermaak believed in my abilities: she was prepared to take responsibility for me as a student when my organ teacher believed that I will embarrass her, and she also encouraged me to do an audition to study music. Therefore, I would like to acknowledge the important role she has played in my development – even in aspects that extrapolate the music scene – and my career. I dedicate this composition to Mrs Louise Vermaak.

Another teacher – who is probably one of the most bespoke teachers of the school for the past fifty years – is Mrs Debora Kruger. We became good friends and she was a mentor to me during my time as learner and as university student until she sadly passed away. She was teacher who encouraged me to live out my passion and sit in her office to arrange music for the next assembly, hiding from the sports teacher who were looking for me all over. As an Afrikaans teacher, she exposed me to literature and poetry that I would not have been exposed to elsewhere. Winternag by Eugène Marais and Ek hou van blou by AD Keet was two of her favourite poems that she knew by heart. This composition was written in memory of Mrs Debora Kruger.