WESTVILLE Girls’ High School returned from Cape Town as champs after an outstanding performance at the Marimba World Championships recently.

The international event brings together schools, private music schools, and community and cultural groups from around the world to showcase their marimba skills.

For coach Calvin Human, being crowned world champions is an incredible honour and a testament to the dedication, talent and years of cumulative hard work put in by every member of the band.

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“To compete against professional bands of all ages, from a spread of countries, was an eye-opening cultural exchange that cannot be replicated in any other space. I think the general overwhelming feeling is one of pride and gratitude,” said Human.

“To be able to win the championship for South Africa and have the trophy on home soil is a dream come true and a moment everyone will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Human said the band’s competition programme had to be highly diverse, with categories ranging from classical music and jazz to African music.

“What ultimately set our band apart was the arrangement and ability to blend traditional sounds with modern techniques and create a performance that the world has never seen before.”

He stressed that success on this scale was not achieved overnight.

“I would love to say that it was the multiple nine-hour rehearsals through the school holidays that did it, but in reality, this trophy was earned through years of consistent practise and pursuit of excellence.”

One of the biggest hurdles the band faced during its preparation was the sheer uncertainty of what awaited them at the championship.

Despite the challenge, the musicians embraced the opportunity to compete on an international stage and ultimately came away with the title.

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Human hopes the victory will inspire other local bands to experiment with new ideas and help South Africa continue to innovate in the musical space while sharing its unique sound with the world.

“When arranging the pieces, I drew on the inspiration of other musical innovators, the likes of Ndlovu Youth Choir, Black Coffee and Tyla, to find what it takes to bring a unique South African sound to the world.”

Human also thanked the competition’s adjudicators for creating an opportunity for the international marimba community to come together.

“Nowhere else in the world will you find primary schools, high schools and open adult bands from multiple countries sharing their musical performances on the same stage,” he said.

For band captain Sinegugu Simelane, the road to the championship was not without its challenges.

She said preparing for the competition was stressful at times, with considerable pressure placed on the band. However, the experience also allowed the members to have fun and build a strong connection as a team, something that proved incredibly important during the competition.

“The experience was very different from other competitions we have participated in, especially being able to see our scores live after each performance,” said Simelane.

“We are usually only given our scores at the end, so seeing them after each round helped us understand where we stood, identify areas for improvement and push ourselves to perform better each time we stepped onto the stage.”

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