Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Hani school band gets its jazz on
AFTER a long struggle to make their big break, the Chris Hani High School band finally found their jazz.
The Khayelitsha school band will open the second day of next weekend’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival at the Basil Manenberg Coetzee stage, a slot traditionally held by a Cape Town high school.
This achievement comes after seven years of preparations. The Western Cape Education Department designated it as one of 10 “arts and culture focus schools”.
The school was selected to be the opening act by festival organisers jointly with the Department of Education.
The selection was based on schools that have music programmes with their curricula, and a school band that has played at least five public performances within a year.
The school has been taking part in the festival’s music and career workshop programme, acquiring skills from professionals on a range of topics, from brand marketing, performance, sound and lighting and logistics.
The band, which has been described as “raw”, had a history of late coming, lack of musical instruments, direction and music production.
However, over the last two years the band pulled up their socks and improved drastically.
Training and Development programme music facilitator Craig Parks said over the past two years the Chris Hani High School band had improved tremendously.
“We almost did not choose them. They came onto the stage and just blew everybody away and everybody sat with their mouths open. That is when we made the final decision that they had covered all the boxes.
“They have improved over the years. Their teacher and principal were disciplined and you could see the vast improvement in their music.
“For seven years the school has participated in the school and music programme and despite all their challenges, they were very raw, they did not have instruments, they struggled with transport and they weren’t ready to perform.
“We fought with them for many years trying to get them right. We understood where they came from and the challenges they faced,” Parks said.
School principal Madoda Mahlutshana said the pupils’ tenacity just kept them going, despite all the challenges they faced, such as the lack of musical instruments and transportation to the work- shops, the group made it their priority to attend.
“The learners have been at back-to-back rehearsals twice a week, for three hours in a session for the last five weeks in preparation for this one-off event in the life of the school.
“It has been a very exciting moment and wow factor that our school was selected to participate at this top of the list national and international music event.
“As the school and the community of Khayelitsha, we are deeply honoured and feel very proud that we will be representing our own locally brewed musical maestros.
“We are humbled and still surprised that we will be sharing a stage with our heroes.
“We are looking forward to our performance, excited but also do not known how the audience will receive us on stage,” Mahlutshana said.