(Report by
Michael Green)
One of
KwaZulu-Natal’s most admired musical institutions, the Kearsney College Choir,
will be in Latvia in northern Europe this month to take part in the 2014 World
Choir Games.
This is the
largest competition of its kind in the world. It is held every two years, and
at the last Choir Games, in Cincinnati, USA, in 2012, Kearsney won two gold
medals and the title of world champions.
This year’s
competition will be held in Riga, Latvia, from July 9 to 19. It will feature
27,000 singers in 460 choirs from 73 countries.
The
64-member Kearsney College Choir, which has given many performances in Durban
and at the school itself, at Botha’s Hill, has participated in the Choir Games
for the past 10 years, winning a total of ten gold and six silver medals.
Its
repertoire is a blend of classical, popular and indigenous music.
Before the
start of this year’s Choir Games, the Kearsney choir will perform at the
Rhythms of One World choral festival in Switzerland, and the singers have also
been invited to perform at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
Last year
the choir sang at a concert in New York marking the anniversary of the signing
of the UN Charter.
A group of
enthusiasts are hoping to prepare a bid to host the World Choir Games in Durban
in 2016 or 2018. Interkultur, organisers
of the event, are positive about the prospect of bringing the competition to
Africa. - Michael Green
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