Mzansi Youth Choir Annual Gala Concert
The Mzansi Youth Choir Annual Gala Concert 2016 is a free concert
THE Mzansi Youth Choir will be staging a glittering Annual Gala Concert taking place on The Mandela Stage at Joburg Theatre on Saturday August 27, at 19:30, for one night only.
The Mzansi Youth Choir Annual Gala Concert 2016 is a free concert which promises to be an exciting assortment of local and international music that will incorporate elements of traditional music, pop and jazz as uniquely performed by The Mzansi Youth Choir.
Mzansi’s exquisite youthful sound, sensational choreography, pulsating energy, buoyancy, vibrancy and devotion to South African music is an experience not to be missed..
To download ‘Say Africa’ visit: https://itunes.apple.com/za/album/say-africa-single/id1139211823
The 90-minute concert will include all the favourite renditions they are known to perform with such flair including their popular Hugh Masekela Medley, Circle of Life, Homeless, Pata Pata and African Dream. They will also be performing their newly released single ‘Say Africa’ for the first time.
‘Say Africa’ was made famous by Vusi Mahlasela, its positive lyrics inspired by Africa. The Mzansi Youth Choir likes to portray a true yet overwhelmingly positive story about their country and continent in their recordings. The song was recorded in Johannesburg and mixed in San Fransisco by Grammy Award-winning a cappella producer, Bill Hare. Bill has worked with top international a cappella groups such as The Pentatonix and The King’s Singers.
Enjoy this video for a behind the scenes look at Mzansi Youth Choir:
The choir was established in July 2003 with the aim of affording talented, underprivileged teenagers and young adults (14-24 years) the opportunity to proficiently perform locally and abroad. The choir consists of 45 choristers from Soweto and other areas in and around Johannesburg. The word ‘mzansi’ means south in isiZulu and is also the township slang word for South Africa.
This concert is free to the public but advanced booking is essential as space is limited.
Enjoy Mzansi Youth Choir’s hit “Africa Rise” video here:
Ralf Schmitt, music director of Mzansi Youth Choir, explained, “The Mzansi Youth Choir would like to thank South Africa and more particularly the people of Johannesburg for their incredible support of the choir and there is no better way to do that than by giving them a free concert to enjoy. Over the past 13 years we have been able to provide countless young South Africans the opportunity to showcase and develop their talents on local and international stages. This concert also gives those who haven’t had the opportunity to see the choir perform before to come along and join us and share in the magic”.
Bookings can be made through www.joburgtheatre.com or by calling the Joburg Theatre Box Office on 0861 670 670 or through Webtickets.
The theatre has a no-under-three-years-of-age policy to ensure the comfort of all patrons. The concert is 90 minutes with interval.
The Mzansi Youth Choir Annual Gala Concert 2016 has been made possible through the generous support of Avbob.
The Mzansi Youth Choir highlights
The Mzansi Youth Choir is widely regarded as one of the best show choirs in the country. Performance highlights include the One World Music Festival, M-Net Idols, Huisgenoot Skouspel, Starlight Classics, The Voice, The Presidential Inauguration, KKNK, The National Arts Festival, The South African Music Awards, as well as performances with Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban.
International highlights include performances in Canada, Denmark, England, Scotland and Turkey. In 2013 the choir was one of the headline acts at the Aarhus Vocal Festival (AAVF). The AAVF is Europe’s largest contemporary vocal festival and featured the world’s top a cappella groups.
Most recently the choir received rousing standing ovations after its performance at the London Guildhall as well as at the Nelson Mandela Day/Commonwealth Games celebrations in Glasgow.
During the 2010 Fifa World Cup the choir shared the stage with Colombian superstar Shakira and local band Freshly Ground for the performance of the official World Cup song ‘Waka Waka’ at the Kick-Off Concert as well as the World Cup Final.
The Mzansi Youth Choir is also a popular favourite for performing at a diverse selection of corporate events.
A bit more about music director Ralf Schmitt
Ralf Schmitt started his musical career as a chorister of the Drakensberg Boys Choir. After completing his schooling at Kearsney College, he returned as student conductor to study choral conducting under Christian Ashley-Botha. He furthered his music studies at the University of Pretoria and majored in jazz vocals.
Ralf has conducted the National Youth Choir of South Africa on two occasions and holds the position of artistic director at the Mzansi Youth Choir.
Ralf is a renowned specialist of African choral music, and his arrangements and compositions are regularly aired on radio stations and performed both locally and abroad.
His works have been published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing as well as Sony/ATV. Ralf has written and arranged music for numerous corporate events and functions and has composed music for film and television commercials for, among others, ESPN and ABC.
During the 2010 Fifa World Cup Ralf worked with Shakira on the vocal arrangements of the official World Cup Song ‘Waka Waka’.
Ralf has a passion for the preservation of traditional South African folk music and has notated and recorded several traditional South African songs. His field work, transcriptions and arrangements have resulted in the publication of two traditional music songbooks.
Ralf has acted as adjudicator at various national and international music competitions. He has presented lively interactive workshops on South African music at schools, universities and festivals in Argentina, the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, Tanzania, Israel, Denmark, Germany and the United States of America.
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