. . . Sponsorship to improve the Eswatini choral music standards
Eswatini Choral Music Association (ENCMA) President, Sihle Gumbi said they are grateful to the bank for its continuous sponsorship towards choral music in the country and said the increased injection for the year will improve the standard of choral music in the Kingdom.
The president said this year’s sponsorship will go a very long way in ensuring that the standard of choral music in the country grows.
He also pleaded with other potential sponsors to see value in this event and partner with the Bank in sponsoring this competition.
He revealed that this partnership they have with Standard Bank started in 1992 with the then Barclays Bank, now Standard Bank and it is the longest-running sponsorship that exists in the country by an institution and that they are very grateful for the continuous support the bank has been showing them over the 30 years.
Talking about the benefits of the sponsorship, Gumbi revealed that they have seen an increase in choirs joining the association, from different spaces of society namely church choirs, institutional choirs, community choirs and tertiary choirs.
Competition
He also stated that just last year, four choirs went to represent the country in a competition called Battle of the Nations where the country came out overall number one.
He said all this success can be attributed to the standard to which the Standard Bank Unayo competition has helped choirs raise the standard of singing in the country.
He also said in this year’s edition, they are looking forward to having an orchestra accompanying choirs. “Now that the country has an orchestra namely the Mbabane Chamber Orchestra which consists of the youth which is mainly those who are school going. We as an association believe in giving everyone to showcase their talents and by extension inspire others that others can master the skill,” he said.
The president also stated that they are on the verge of promoting the singing of music composed in SiSwati, as such for the past two years they have been deliberately prescribing it as a way of promoting the language. Gumbi also appreciated the media for the role they play in promoting choral music in the country, not forgetting the marketing team of the bank who worked tirelessly to make this competition a success.