Event information
Bloom in Concert is the opening event of Stanford in Bloom 2026, presenting the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, conducted by Liam Burden, with guest soprano Lynelle Kenned in the Stanford NG Kerk. The concert is the second consecutive year that Stanford in Bloom has opened with a live orchestral performance, building on the inaugural concert held in 2025.
The programme is designed for a broad audience and includes selections from Carmen, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Colours of the Wind, alongside South African works including Plea from Africa and a Miriam Makeba Medley. Kenned is a UCT Opera School graduate whose stage credits include Maria in West Side Story, Musetta in La Bohème, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Julie in Showboat. Her awards include the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award (2016), a Naledi Award (2018), the Kunste Onbeperk Young Voice (2019), and a Fiesta Award for Best Classical Music Presentation (2023).
A youth development workshop takes place on the day of the concert, in which members of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra work alongside local youth performers, continuing the community-focused component established in 2025.