SA: National Choir Fest goes to Cape Town

The event in the Mother City is part of a series of choral competitions that are hosted throughout South Africa’s nine provinces and in neighbouring countries such as Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

“As the main sponsor, Old Mutual is proud to play a role in bringing people together to celebrate the glorious tradition of choral singing,” Old Mutual sponsorship manager Bandile Mngoma said. “We believe that by supporting this event and helping to cultivate talent, we are building strong communities and enabling positive futures for many.

“The Old Mutual National Choir Festival prides itself on its rich heritage of cultivating talent and enabling positive futures. This year’s grand finale is going to be a momentous occasion, when we celebrate 40 years of creative genius through music. I urge families and communities to support their choirs as they poise themselves for musical greatness.”

Choirs from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa will compete in three categories – Standard, Large and Champs of Champs – and perform Western and African compositions by Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Verdi, SBP Mnomiya, S Njeza and Q Sibisi.

The Old Mutual National Choir Festival, which is among southern Africa’s biggest choral competitions, opened this year’s season with the Free Stage province competition at Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein on 5 August, which was followed by the Swaziland leg at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha.

Schedule of events:

• North West province and Botswana competition: Rustenburg Civic Centre, Rustenburg, South Africa, on 3 September.
• Limpopo competition (venue TBA) on 9 September.
• Zimbabwe competition: Harare Celebration Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe, on 16 September.
• Northern Cape province competition: Northern Cape Theatre, Kimberley, South Africa, on 1 October.
• Eastern Cape province competition: Guy Butler Theatre, Grahamstown, South Africa, on 7 October.
• Gauteng province competition: Mosaïek Teatro, Johannesburg, South Africa, on 14 October.
• KwaZulu-Natal competition: Ethekwini Playhouse, Durban, South Africa, on 15 October.

For more information, visit the Old Mutual National Choir Festival official website.