“There is so much integration in Stellenbosch and we can see it through the music that brings everyone together.”
So said Nobakhe Sigcau, chairperson of the AmaXhosa Royal Family, at the conclusion of the 12th annual e’Bosch School Choir Festival. In a festival of song to rapturous applause from the audience, 600 primary school learners from 17 Stellenbosch and Franschhoek schools presented the second instalment of the festival at the Coetzenburg Sports Centre in Stellenbosch last Thursday (28 September). The first event for secondary schools was held at Hoërskool Stellenbosch on Friday 1 September.
“Music builds bridges, it is work in progress and may it continue to transform Stellenbosch to become what their people desire it to be,” added Sigcau, who attended the event with her husband Chief Zanekululeko Salakuphathwa as guests of honour for the e’Bosch Heritage Project.
The 17 primary schools participating this year were Cloetesville, St Paul’s, St Idas, Rietenbosch, Pieter Langeveldt, Ikhaya, AF Louw, JJ Rhode, Klapmuts, Dalubuhle, Joostenberg, St Vincent, Simondium, Devon Valley, Raithby, Weber Gedenk and Dorethea.
The schools were divided into three clusters performing a variety of medleys covering songs by, among others, Elton John, Ben E King, Jenn Bostic, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Francois van Coke and Karen Zoid, Sally K Albrecht and Marthie Driesen.
Other highlights of the event were also performances by the Stellenbosch University Brass Ensemble under the direction of Wade Williams, soprano Sashon Johnson, trumpet player Courtney Sampson, and the South African Youth Choir directed by Phil Robinson. John Frans, the e’Bosch School Choir Festival director, also accompanied several numbers on the piano.
“The e’Bosch School Choir Festival is one of the flagship events of the 40 events presented each year by the e’Bosch Heritage Project,” said Dr Sias Mostert, chairperson of the board. “We see music as an integral tool to further our aims, inter alia, to eliminate social injustices and facilitating inclusion for all. Music not only enables everyone to celebrate their own heritage, but also to build bridges between different social and cultural groups.”
The e’Bosch School Choir Festival is the largest gathering of school learners for this type of event in the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek area since its inception in 2012.
