National schools choir competition draws 23 choirs to George

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - The city of George played proud host to the annual Southern Cape Sport Tours Cantamus national schools choir competition and festival this past weekend, when 23 choirs from as far afield as Durban, Tshwane, Johannesburg, Buffalo City and Cape Town arrived to battle it out for the position of best choir of the competition. The event was presented at the Tramonto wedding venue from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 August.

Competing choirs had a busy itinerary, filling hotels from Wilderness to Mossel Bay and commencing with the Thursday opening ceremony, where a flag parade was followed by interviews of the student leaders about their choirs and a “big brag” rendition of one of their songs.

Friday morning was reserved for visiting the Garden Route’s best tourist spots and doing sound checks, while Friday evening was reserved for a public “friendship concert” serving as a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s adjudication concerts.

The participating choirs were Assegai Primary School (Durban), Brescia House Choir (Sandton), Claredon Girls’ High School (East London), Collegiate Girls High School (Port Elizabeth), Curro Cantare Choir (Hermanus), Diamantveld HS (Kimberley), the Kimberley Children’s Choir, George Randell HS (Port Elizabeth) HTS Louis Botha (Bloemfontein), Lawson Brown HS (Port Elizabeth) Michaelhouse Choir (Kwazulu-Natal Midlands), Randfontein HS (3 choirs), St Mary’s DSG ( ) , Uitenhage HS, University of Pretoria Onderstepoort Community Choir, Welgemoed Primary School (Cape Town), Welkom High School, Westering High School (Port Elizabeth), Willem Postma Primary School (Bloemfontein), Wierdapark Primary School (Tshwane) and Zwartkop HS (Centurion).

The overall competition winners were the magnificent girls of Clarendon High who attained a 90.65%, followed by Welgemoed Primary School in 2^nd place. St Mary’s DSG Choir was 3^rd.

Jan-Erik Swart, director of the acclaimed South Cape Children’s Choir, presented the event on behalf of Southern Cape Sport Tours and explained the importance of the event for the city of George: “This event is a prime example of cultural tourism where 1200 choristers, their teachers and many accompanying parents invest in the infrastructure of our city as a tour destination. Apart from the superb experience choirs have in competing and hearing one another sing, many parents and teachers comment to me that they can’t believe how clean, neat and beautiful George’s streets and surroundings are, compared to where they come from. It is something we, as Georgians, can be proud of, and should appreciate much more.”

Kimberley Children's Choir