EOAN, our story

260 pp., b/w & colour illus., hardback, d.w. a little worn, Johannesburg, 2013 

"The Eoan Group was started in District Six in the 1930s as a cultural organisation for the coloured community of Cape Town, performing opera, ballet and drama. The group has become an important part not only of the performance history of classical music and opera in South Africa, but also of the rich cultural heritage of the Cape. During their artistic peak, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Eoan was extremely popular amongst opera lovers, but because of South Africa's racial policies, could not perform with white opera and ballet companies and had to suffer the many indignities of segregation. 

Through extensive interviews with former Eoan members, and rich visual and archival material, this book, the first on the history of the group, makes a unique contribution to South African music history. It illustrates how difficult it was for these artists to work in the classical arts during the apartheid years, but also how music and the arts can bring meaning to the lives of communities and individuals." Taken from the book.