His hands, so nimble, dextrous and effervescent on a piano keyboard, were gripping the steering wheel, powering the sturdy Isuzu D-Max double-cab up Du Toitskloof Pass. We were en route from Cape Town to Villiersdorp, where this musical maestro was meeting with a choir from his 150-year-old alma mater, De Villiers Graaff High School.
Charl-Johan Lingenfelder has come a long way since he grew up in this hidden-away dorp tucked between two nature reserves on the other side of the mountains. In the course of his 50-odd years, he's earned international acclaim as a musical director and composer, has scored music for more than 15 films, has appeared on stage and worked in orchestra pits on countless shows, and is forever busy with the next big project. His work has been performed in theatres across South Africa and everywhere from New York to Shanghai and Paris. He is a force, a creative lightning
