Ndlovu choir tops SA iTunes charts
Group set to jet off to Berlin to perform at charity event
THE NDLOVU Youth Choir are celebrating the release of their debut album titled Africa which has already shot up to number one on South African iTunes.
The America’s Got Talent finalists have been working very hard in the past two years to make a name for themselves.
“We wanted to represent the hopes and dreams of the African continent and particularly the youth,” said the choir’s press statement.
The youthful Ndlovu Youth Choir were invited to audition for the widely popular America’s Got Talent show last year and made it all the way to the finals with some impressive performances.
Just months after returning home, the Limpopo-based choir released their album.
The group’s leader Ralf Schmitt said the album was a special dedication to the massive support they received from South Africans.
“The album was created because of the love we were receiving from our fellow South Africans,” he said.
Africa was recorded all over the world by a number of producers and was publicly released a week ago.
The group will be going to Berlin for four days to perform at one of the biggest charity events in Europe, Herz für Kinder on Saturday, and this will be televised in Germany.
“Our dream is to continue inspiring young people, keep doing what we’re doing, remain humble, keep our feet on the ground and to never forget where we are from.
“If we can continue doing that, then there will be more joyous music to come from it in the future,” said Schmitt.
The choir was started 10 years ago by an organisation called Ndlovu Care Group, a South African non-profit organisation based in a rural Limpopo which provides innovative health care, child care, education and community development.
Schmitt, 31, is the group’s choirmaster, conductor and artistic director.
He joined the organisation in 2009 when the choir was created. The choir formed part of the child care programme which was transformed into a job-creation project two years ago due to the number of unemployed teenagers that were part of the group and the lack of opportunities in the area.
The group consists of 40 teenagers and young adults, they use a theatre in a rural area called Moutse to practise, which is also where the organisation is located.
The choir remains a vital part of the community and an important way for its choristers to achieve excellence in an area battling poverty and other socio-economic challenges.