An Interview With Grammy-Winning South-African Flutist, WOUTER KELLERMAN

GRAMMY^® AWARD WINNING South African flutist and composer, WOUTER KELLERMAN, just debuted at #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart with his newly released album titled “LOVE LANGUAGE”. The album follows up Kellerman’s recent 2015 GRAMMY^® AWARD win with renowned Indian composer and producer Ricky Kej for their debut collaborative album WINDS OF SAMSARA (www.windsofsamsara.com) for “Best New Age Album of The Year.” The collaborative album also debuted #1 on the Billboard New Age Chart, staying in the Top 10 for the next 12 weeks; and debuted at #1 on the ZMR World Radio Charts. The globe-trotting flutist and composer also won three 2015 South African Music Awards (the nation’s equivalent to the GRAMMY® Awards in the U.S.), reinforcing the artist’s standing as one of his home country’s most innovative musicians.

LOVE LANGUAGE is the fourth release from Kellerman, and draws influence from Senegal and Spain, Cuba and India, Greece and the United States. The album encapsulates the myriad ways that people connect on the topics of life and love — and the countless languages with which people speak of the universal connection that binds them one to another. “The theme of being loving joins us all together,” says Kellerman, “and music bridges all cultural gaps, becoming a universal language that communicates across seemingly insurmountable barriers.”

Kellerman recently appeared at famed venues The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, as special guest performer, on August 12 in Washington, D.C.; and headlines Carnegie Hall on October 9. The last few years have seen Kellerman performing in U.S., Berlin, Shanghai, Sydney, and beyond, including an appearance in front of 700 million people as part of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup Closing Ceremony.

Passionate about teaching and empowering young people, Kellerman has sponsored the living expenses of ten children in the SOS Children’s Village in Ennerdale, South Africa for the past 14 years; he has also financed the building of a house in the SOS Children’s Village in Rustenburg, South Africa. For his continued efforts in helping give these children a better life, Kellerman was nominated by the SOS Children’s Villages for the Inyathelo Special Recognition Award for Philanthropy. He continues to facilitate the teaching of young dance and music students in his country.

WOUTER KELLERMAN started playing the flute at the age of 10, and in 1981, appeared as a soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra. He went on to feature in several South African orchestras, garnering numerous musical accolades along the way. Among these was winning the Perrenoud Foundation Prize during the 1997 Vienna International Music Competition. Kellerman’s original flute-playing can also be heard on the soundtrack of the Emmy Award-winning film, EYE OF THE LEOPARD.

Learn more about Wouter in the following PHONE interview with him here:

About the Author

Leah Brungardt joined All Access Music Group in August 2011 and has been enjoying getting to know a new side of the music industry ever since. Having worked to promote radio stations in the past, seeing what makes a successful radio hit has been a thrill. As a lover of all genres of music, working at All Access Music Group is a perfect fit for Leah, and she loves learning about up and coming musicians as well. Most of her friends have come to rely on her for new music.