REVIEW June 2009 for LOUISE DU TOIT FEATURED ARTIST SHOWCASE IMRADIO 'One of the most beautiful voices in Europe comes from Athens and belongs to Louise du Toit. Completely original and interesting, Louise composes “smooth rhythms, strong melodies, subtle sounds and meaningful lyrics”. Her songs “Just Love” “Crime” “Inside” won a South African songwriting competition. Louise has recently formed the group AINESHANA with co-composer and classical guitarist, Nikos Piperis. She performs nightly in Athens. Watch for the release of her new CD and music video, and listen for Louise on IMRadio.' MC Rydel
LOUISE DU TOIT, DAUGHTER OF MUSICAL, ARTISTIC PARENTS, WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTH AFRICA. ALL THROUGHOUT HER SCHOOL YEARS SHE STUDIED CLASSICAL PIANO AND VIOLIN, TAKING PART IN RECITALS AND CONCERTS WITH YOUTH ORCHESTRAS, AND ACTING AND SINGING IN THEATRE AND MUSICAL PLAYS, ALWAYS DRAWING PICTURES IN BETWEEN WITH HER ARTIST FATHER. SHE TOURED THE COUNTRY AND EUROPE AND WON MANY CULTURAL AWARDS. AT UNIVERSITY SHE STUDIED ACTING AND THEATRE ARTS, WHICH INCLUDED STAGE AND COSTUME DESIGN AND POSTER ILLUSTRATIONS. CONTINUING HER MUSIC AND VOICE LESSONS, SHE PLAYED LEAD PARTS IN MUSICALS, SANG IN OPERAS AND WROTE THEATRE PLAYS, WINNING MORE AWARDS. AFTER FINISHING HER DEGREE, SHE WORKED AS A FREELANCE ACTRESS, SINGER AND MUSICIAN IN SOUTH AFRICA. SHE PERFORMED AND COLLABORATED WITH ARTISTS LIKE MAURITZ LOTZ, LULU GONTSANA, RICHARD VAN DER WESTHUIZEN, GLEN MAFOKO, LOCHNER DE KOCK, SURENDRAN REDDY, LOUIS VAN RENSBURG, EKKIE ECKHART AND VARIOUS OTHER KNOWN MUSICIANS AND SINGERS, DOING RADIO AND TELEVISION WORK, RECORDING HER OWN MUSIC AND WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING A CHILDREN’S SONGBOOK WHICH SOLD 6000 COPIES. WINNING A NATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION IN AFRICA WAS THE KEY TO MOVING ABROAD. IN ATHENS SHE CO- WROTE AND RECORDED AN ALBUM, “ALRIGHT”, WITH SPIRROS PAPASPIROU AND EDMUND DIOLULU, FORMING THE GROUP “COMMITTEE 3”. SHE WORKED AS A MUSICIAN AND SINGER, DID RADIO AND TELEVISION ADVERTISEMENTS AND PERFORMED IN ATHENS AND OTHER PARTS OF GREECE. SINCE FINISHING HER DEGREE IN OPERA THREE YEARS AGO, THE ARTIST HAS BEEN GIVING VOCAL LESSONS TO NUMEROUS STUDENTS. FOR SEVEN MONTHS EVERY YEAR SHE PERFORMS IN FRONT OF A COSMOPOLITAN AUDIENCE AND DURING THE WINTER SHE REGULARLY SINGS WITH ORCHESTRAS. SHE ALSO PRODUCED AND RECORDED AN ALBUM WITH HER HUSBAND IN 2007 IN GREECE. IN MAY 2007, SHE HAD HER FIRST ART EXHIBITION IN GREECE, WHICH INTRODUCED US TO THE ADVANCED TECHNIQUE OF COMBINING DRAWINGS, PAPER-CUTTING AND COLLAGE, WITH SUBJECTS DRAWN FROM NATURE, LANDSCAPES AND LIFE IN AFRICA. SHE RECENTLY COMPLETED AN ALBUM WITH 10 SONGS ABOUT AFRICAN ANIMALS, TO ACCOMPANY SOME OF HER PAINTINGS AT HER SECOND EXHIBITION IN 2008 AT ONE OF THE MUNICIPAL GALLERIES OF GREECE, AS WELL AS 14 COMPOSITIONS FOR PIANO, IMITATING AFRICAN ANIMALS WITH THE MUSIC, AND ALSO ILLUSTRATING THE BOOK. HER LAST EXHIBITION IN SEPTEMBER 2008 IN ATHENS WAS EQUALLY SUCCESFUL.
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