UWC Choir comes out tops
THE University of the Western Cape (UWC) scooped gold at the World Choir Games, hosted on African soil for the first time.
Conducted by awardwinning composer Sibusiso Njeza, the choir came out tops in the Mixed Choirs category in Tshwane.
Described as the world’s largest international choir competition, it’s the 10th time the World Choir Council met and brought together amateur choirs from across the world to compete in different categories.
UWC deputy vice-chancellor for student development and support Professor Pam Dube congratulated students and all those involved on the achievement. “As a university, we are very proud of our UWC Creative Arts Choir, which always emerges victorious at every national or international event and continues to fly the UWC flag high.
“We congratulate them on this remarkable achievement and thank them, as well as the
These victories remind us to keep our heads high when competing
whole team behind their triumph, for all the hard work,” Dube said.
The choir has won a number of competitions, including the SA Tertiary Institutions Choral Association Eisteddfod, the National Choir Festival and the Western Cape Choral Music Association’s Choral Music Eisteddfod.
They were also the semi-finalists in the Varsity Sing competition, a reality TV series for university choirs.
Njeza said the victory had taught choir members that, working together, with each person contributing in their own small way, they can achieve anything they set their minds to.
“Without each one’s individual efforts and contribution we could not have been named World Champions in that category
“UWC as an institution has so much talent and potential to compete internationally and win.
“Victories like these remind us to keep our heads high when competing against people we regard as greater than us,” Njeza said.
The competition started on July 4 and ends on Saturday.