Music student achieves dream
president whose integrity, soul, and heart have been compromised. At the heart of the message of the Resurrection of Jesus is the stubborn insistence that nothing is irrevocable. No betrayal is final. There is no loss that cannot be redeemed. It is never too late to start again,” Makgoba said.
He said the promise of Easter can be likened to what “I call the new struggle in South Africa. In that struggle the realisation of the promise of Easter is measured not only by how soon we replace the current administration, but by how well we ready ourselves for what comes next…”
“Let us turn this moment of crisis into a moment of opportunity and convene a land Codesa to negotiate a solution to this emotional issue and in the light of the downgrades of our credit ratings an economic Codesa too,” Makgoba said. – ANA OPERA singer Esihle-Gigs Nhleko might have performed at the United Nations and brought back medals from an international competition, but co-ordinating the UKZN Ensemble will always be special to her.
The Ensemble’s first performance was at the university’s graduation ceremonies at the Westville campus, which ended last week. Now they will continue working together for other performances.
Nhleko, 20, a mezzo-soprano and a third-year student working towards her BA in music, helped make history by breaking away from the traditional type of songs sung at previous graduations and introducing a large percentage of local music.
One of the highlights of the Ensemble’s performance at the graduation ceremonies was singing the famous Hugh Masekela
song, as the legendary singer received his honorary doctorate in music.
The choir and the packed audience were thrilled when Masekela joined in and sang his song with them.
“They raved afterwards about the energy of the choir,” she said.
Nhleko’s passion for music started when she was 11 and she was awarded a gold certificate for an 86% performance in the eThekwini Eisteddfod Choral Competition.
Her big break came when she competed in and won the South African Championship of the Performing Arts competition. This opened doors for her and in 2012, she went on to compete against singers from 36 countries in the World Championship of Performing Arts in Los Angeles.
She returned home with a gold for Opera, a bronze for Gospel and was judged the overall champion for her division.
She performed for Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s farewell event as the chairperson of the AU. She also shared a platform with others performing for international UN delegates, representing their countries. Then Nhleko achieved another of her dreams, performing at the Durban International Convention Centre before she was 18.