Mpumalanga Youth Choir hosts spectacular concert in Sudwala Caves
The festival, titled Echoes in the Dark, featured various choirs portraying South Africa as a rainbow nation, with a particular emphasis on the diversity of its languages.
The Mpumalanga Youth Choir held an enchanting concert at the Sudwala Caves’ amphitheatre on Friday 26
and Saturday 27 May.
With Crescendo Marimba opening the stage for the Mpumalanga Youth Choir (MPYC) on Saturday evening, guests knew they were witnessing an iconic show.
The festival, titled Echoes in the Dark, featured various choirs portraying South Africa as a rainbow nation, and especially the diversity of its languages were highlighted. The MYC organiser, Jeanne Lourens, said the two-day event was a huge success with 900 guests from the Lowveld and outside the region attending.
”The festival was held to boost the fund of the MPYC and to encourage young people to sing.We are also using these festivals to feed people in need. Before all our events, we ask guests to bring non-perishable foods to be donated in the area where the performances are taking place,” Lourens said.
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A total of 800 children were part of the choir and “the many people who showed up, proved that choral music is still a favourite and that young people of this era enjoy it. It also shows that we are on the right track and that despite the cold, so many people turned up.”
Lourens also said that one of the rules for these participating choirs, is that children are allowed to sing in languages they are comfortable with.
”We encourage the choir masters to try and use all of the country’s official languages. At this concert, we saw a mixture of Nguni, Sotho, Afrikaans English and other African languages being sung by children from primary and secondary schools,” she said.
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Those who wish to become involved with the MPYC, only those in grades seven and eight, should send a video of them singing the first verse of ”Silent Night” without any assistance, and send it to 063 797 9015 via WhatsApp.
White River Primary, Laerskool Nelspruit and Laerskool Bergland represented the Lowveld region at the festival and shared the stage with the MPYC, the Highveld Youth Choir, Patriot Secondary and Laerskool Tasbetpark.
