PRESS: NorthSouth Duo presents concert series, TO MOER AND GONE

René Esterhuyse

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From NorthSouth Duo comes TO MOER AND GONE, a concert series that explores the question, What is home? through music. Taking place at the Endler Hall (Stellenbosch) on 18 September 2026, and at Theatre Arts (Cape Town) on 20 September 2026, the performances will showcase beloved existing music as well as premier exciting new works by composers from all over the world.

NorthSouth Duo is an international musical partnership consisting of the South African saxophonist, Josie McClure, and Kaat Vanhaverbeke, from Belgium, on accordion. The musicians met during their postgraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Both strangers in the city, they shared a sense of feeling out of place and decided to play music together. ‘To Moer and Gone’ is a meditation on this experience of living far away from home, trying to build a home elsewhere, and turning to music as a source of solace.

Photo Supplied.

The programme offers a veritable journey to moer and gone, travelling from Bartók’s famous Romanian Folk Dances to the Greek-inspired melodies of Pedro Iturralde’s Suite Hellénique (2001), to Polish composer, Mikołaj Majkusiak’s The Elements (2014). A new composition by Glaucio Ngaca from Angola reimagines Angolan musical and linguistic traditions in a playful, dance-like style.

Other works speak to the personal connection between the musicians: Vanhaverbeke wrote Mantra (2023), a meditative work for saxophone and accordion, for her and McClure, while the American composer and friend of the duo, Aaron Levin’s commission, Limited Modes of Transportation, reflects on maintaining personal relationships across physical distances.

South African contributions include new compositions by Mattijs Van Dijk, Jeremy Hart, and Erin Potgieter. Van Dijk’s Only For Now (2024) is a chamber work with a unique combination of instruments, namely, accordion, saxophone, uhadi (a traditional Xhosa instrument), double bass and percussion. Hart’s Over the Horizon is a short tone poem that mimics the waves of the ocean; Invisible Threads & Wandering Heads by Potgieter (who is currently based in Spain) explores migrating and belonging in multiple places.

Finally, Libyan-born poet, Sarah Uheida (whose poetry collection, Not This Tender was shortlisted for the 2025 Ingrid Jonker Prize) will perform a spoken-word work about her personal experience of displacement.

TO MOER AND GONE encourages its audience to reflect on where they find their own sense of home and belonging. Tickets are available online through Webtickets for the performance on 18 September 2026, and at theatrearts.co.za for 20 September 2026.

For more information, follow @northsouth_duo on Instagram.