Cape Town - Monument Park High School’s choir has been invited to take part in of one the most prestigious performance festivals in the world - the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales.
The event sees nearly 4 000 performers and 50 000 spectators visiting Llangollen and its International Pavilion every year.
Monument Park High School choir, led by Christine Bam, consists of 70 pupils between the ages of 14 and 18.
“The choir is only two years old and after posting some videos on Facebook, we were chosen to perform,” said Bam. “The school didn’t have a choir, and I thought you need a choir in the school. You need to do something after school, and not just go home.”
“We don’t all speak the same languages so we have to learn. We practice on Friday afternoons because they take taxis. The learners are from areas like Kraaifontein, Wallacedene, Bloekombos and Northpine.”
Bam has had to take a very smart approach to help the choir because not all the students read music, and because they practice one day a week.
“They are learning a lot of the music over Whatsapp and we have Whatsapp groups for every voice group so then they can help each other learn their parts. Sometimes we practice over the phone. Some of them send me a please call me for me to call them because they want me to sing them a part.”
As excited as the choir is to perform at the festival, they have been hard at work raising funds for all the learners and a few chaperones to attend.
“There are learners who can’t pay and you need sponsors for that,” said Bam. “We are trying so hard to get funding, we sing at malls almost every weekend, and we have a High Tea on March 11, and the learners have their choir festival with Emo Adams on March 22 to try and raise money for the choir.”
“We still need R750 000 to help us reach our goal.”
Grade 12 pupil Kristle Langeveld, from Kraaifontein, has loved every minute of being in the Monument Park High School choir, saying it has been an experience for which she is extremely grateful.
“I’ve grown a lot and I’ve learned so much since joining the choir - not only about music, but sticking together and learning about each other.
“I don’t even want to miss choir rehearsal, even though we are sometimes tired, because it is so much fun to work together.
Asked what she was most proud of, choir leader Bam said that it had to be how, within the time together, the choir has grown as a team.
“These learners all come from different backgrounds but they teach each other as brothers and sisters. The choir has become one of the flagships of the school.”
* Christine Bam can be be reached via [email protected] or at Monument Park High School - 021 987 1630.