91 Choir The Kearsney College Choir has firmly established itself as a world player in the choral arena. This 64-strong outfit of young men with their signature boyish energy, clear harmonies and razor-sharp choreography have experienced an unprecedented year of success. The bi-annual international tours which the ensemble under take are star ting to pay serious dividends.The motivation to perform and compete against some of the world’s top choirs is the best possible tool to inspire the eager minds of these boys, who are really just ordinary school boys with girlfriends, spor ts practices, homework, tests and assignments. The choir was in good hands under the direction of Bernard Krüger and our top pianist, Bonita Ziegelmeier. But, the true strength of the choir lies in the marvellous voices and musical exper tise which a lot of boys bring to the ensemble. Our musical leader, Siphelele Dondolo, ensured that the high standards of all aspects of our performance. Movement leader,Yanga Mazwai, spent hours with his team of choreographers before teaching new steps to the group. Percussion leader, Minenhle Sikhosana, ensured that we never missed a beat and administrator,Tim Lewis, kept our register up to date. Other stars in the choir’s arsenal included our near professional band: Jonathan Johansen, Evan Knight,Tim Lewis, Koketso Seboka and Emil Loubser. Rock-solid African drummers Malwande Nkunzi, Minenhle Sikhosana, Bheki Hlongwane and Panashe Mwamuka as well as soloists Siphelele Dondolo, Jonathan Johansen, Kevin Sibande, Alex Gibb and Nduduzo Mkhize deserve praise. A highlight of the year was the two performances on board cruise ships docked in Durban harbour.The first was aboard the Costa Riviera and the second aboard the Costa Neo Romantica.The international audiences were highly appreciative of our boys’ energetic performances. The annual open weekend was a great moment for the choir to market itself. This year’s concer t was par ticularly enjoyable for the choir, since the hall was filled beyond maximum capacity, and the audience just kept asking for more In 2014, we shared the stage in collaboration concer ts with the KZN youth choir, the Hamburg girls’ choir, Synergy! show choir from the USA, St Mary’s and the Hillcrest High Glee choir. Our post-tour supper theatres ran over three nights in August and tickets for these concer ts were sold out more than two weeks before the event.The choir loves performing at home and appreciates the wild applause and unwavering suppor t from the greater Kearsney family. A followup event was organised in September, which was again a fantastic evening for all involved. One of our supper theatres was recorded by the SABC and the footage was used on Imizwilili choral showcase for nine consecutive weeks. Bernard Krüger ARTS @ Kearsney With grateful thanks to Troy, Jordan, Blaise & Cade Meaker
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