GEORGE NEWS - After achieving a first prize summa cum laude at the 67th European Music Festival for Young People in Neerpelt, Belgium, the members of Glenwood House Marimba Band have been extremely busy catching up on their academics, but their achievement has not been forgotten.
The school's marketer, Debbie Symes, says the band was featured on SABC TV news and several radio stations, but the highlight for them was a visit to the school by KykNET's TV crew, who spent a day recording and interviewing them for the TV programme Kwêla.
Symes says the band also performed at their welcome home concert held at the Wilderness Hotel, together with another first prize-winning group, the South Cape Children's Choir, also directed by Jan-Erik Swart.
"Since their return, interest in playing marimbas has skyrocketed among the pupils of Glenwood House, and the band has been invited to visit Tacoma, Washington State, in the USA in June 2020 as part of a cultural exchange of sister cities George and Tacoma," says Symes.
The band will take part in the George Eisteddfod and has also been requested to play at various public and private functions in the region.
The European Music Festival for Young People (EMJ) in Neerpelt is an annual festival that attracts around 4 000 youngsters of some 100 international youth choirs or instrumental ensembles. EMJ encourages young people to make music and sing together and offers them ways to meet and appreciate each other's music. Performances are judged by an international jury and the public can enjoy a range of concerts. Famous conductors, composers and jury members praise EMJ's value and its unique mix of companionship and evaluation.
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