e’Bosch Schools Choir Festival 2023 kicks off this Friday
Preparations for the e’Bosch Schools Choir Festival 2023 are well under way for the secondary school concert this Friday, 1 September at the Stellenbosch High School.
“Some 145 secondary school learners from the secondary schools Cloetesville, Lückhoff,, Stellenzicht, and Stellenbosch High will be performing with the South African Youth Choir and the Stellenbosch University Brass Ensemble,” says John Frans, Project Manager for the e’Bosch Schools Choir Festival.
The Stellenbosch University Brass Ensemble under the direction of Pamela Kierman will accompany the choir item which e’Bosch has commissioned from local composer Xander Kritzinger. He has composed a work titled The United Light which is also the official e’Bosch theme song for every edition of this festival.
“I’m also specially delighted to announce that the South African Youth Choir under Phil Robinson will be part of our programme this year. My mission with the e’Bosch School Choir Festival as always would be to continue inspiring a renewed affection for choral music and singing,” says John Frans a prolific contributor to the development of musical talent in local communities.
John who spent a significant part of his youth honing his craft as a pianist, organist and conductor is truly a veteran in the world of choral music and has served the music well in a variety of capacities. His commitment to creating opportunities for communities to engage in choral music led to the formation of the St. Luke’s Chorale choir in 2013.
He has produced, conducted and curated several concerts over a period of 52 years with notable performances of excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, Fauré Requiem, and Bach’s Christ Lag in Todes, Baden with an orchestra. He has also produced live jazz programmes featuring the highly-revered Tony Schilder and Zayn Adams.
The e’Bosch Schools Choir Festival, presented in 2012 for the first time, has grown into one of the flagship events of the e’Bosch Heritage Project. Every year, up to 1 000 learners from some 30 secondary and primary schools in the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek districts get together in a festival of song to celebrate their cultural diversity and strengthen social cohesion.
The e’Bosch School Choir Festival 2023 for secondary schools will be presented 19:00 on Friday, September 1, at the Stellenbosch High School and the primary school event will take place on 28 September at 18:00 at the Coetzenburg Sports Complex. Tickets at R50 a head are available at the door.
Contact John Frans at 084 824 5611 or jfrans12@icloud.com for more information on the e’Bosch School Choir Festival.
