A FORMER Uitenhage musical talent who has his heart set on studying music overseas has landed three prestigious scholarships over the last two years.

To win the Stephanus Zondagh Music Scholarship for organ, as well as the PJ Lemmer Overseas Music Scholarship for performers, organist Winand Grundling, 22, had to complete his Unisa Licenciate Performers Exam last year, which he passed with distinction.

He was then invited to compete in the Unisa Overseas Music Scholarship Competition in Pretoria from October 28 to 30 last year, where he received the Gertrude Buchanan bursary enabling him to compete again in 2009.

Grundling, a former Brandwag High School pupil, slightly resembles the main character of JK Rowling’s popular Harry Potter books, and as a result was dubbed by his Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) peers as “Harry Potter and his magical organ”.

He practices between four and six hours a day.

Grundling completed his B Mus degree at NMMU last year and then started taking lessons with another former Bay musical talent, Mario Nell, at Stellenbosch University.

“I registered for an Honours degree in music, specialising in organ performance,” he said.

“Mario oversees the practical side of my degree and coincidentally also comes from Uitenhage,” said Grundling, who began playing the piano in Grade 2, in 1995.

This multi-talented performer recently also started with lessons in harpsichord, an instrument which looks somewhat like a piano but was historically used in Renaissance and Baroque music.

He discovered his love of the organ in 2002 when his piano teacher, Maretha Gerber, referred him to Colin Campbell at NMMU, to start with organ the next year.

“I quickly realised the organ was my forte, and winning the Absa National Youth Music competition at the age of 17 in 2004 was confirmation of this,” said Grundling.

“I like to play any music from the Romantic Period, especially pieces by Widor, Guilmant and Mendelssohn. I also enjoy improvising and arranging on both piano and organ.”

In 2005 and 2007 he performed as soloist with the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra in the Feather Market Centre.

This year he played the organ part in Handel’s Messiah and an organ concerto as part of the Youth Concerto Festival.

Grundling said organists were often employed by churches.

“From next year, I’ll be the newly-appointed organist at the Dutch Reformed Church Welgelegen in Stellenbosch.”

His future plans include performing “as much as I am able to”.