Flautist soars on the winds of success

WOUTER KELLERMAN: HIS LIFE IS AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INSTRUMENT HE PLAYS

- Bonginkosi Tiwane

Generated American rapper Andre 3000 once said what made him take up the flute was that there was a sense of humanness and immediacy to the wind instrument. "It's the closest thing to singing. You're hearing a human's wind," the rapper told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.

The flute has been described as a warm and distinctive instrument. South Africa's most celebrated flautist, Wouter Kellerman, shares similar characteristics with the instrument. He is equally warm and precise in his assertiveness.

Kellerman welcomes The Citizen to his home in Johannesburg on a rainy Monday. "Ja, this is like a normal day in the UK," he said of the weather.

He is renowned, yet modest, and his home reflects this, too. It has a bright, airy interiors filled with natural light, with some of his accolades, including Grammy Awards, placed elegantly in places where you might even miss them when walking into the living room.

While Andre 3000 has been playing the flute for just under a decade, Kellerman picked up the instrument when he was 10 years old. He is 63 now.

Despite being the South African with the most Grammy Awards, Kellerman said his family treats him the same.