DURBAN: WHEN it comes to hitting the right notes, 17-year-old Cohen Naidoo’s tone, pitch, and timing are immaculate.
The Morningside chorister travelled to Barcelona on Thursday with the KZN Youth Choir.
It will compete with top choirs from around the world in the Golden Voices of Barcelona competition until mid-July.
The winning choir will perform at the hallowed La Sagrada basilica.
Cohen, who sings bass, which sets a choir’s mood and tone, said: “I feel blessed. It will be a challenge. I’m keen to see how other choirs do.”
The Grade 11 Durban High School (DHS) pupil said they had rehearsed for hours under the supervision of choir master Gerald du Toit.
As a member of the DHS Deo Fretus Choir, Cohen secured KZN colours in 2015. He has since been a fixture of the KZN choir which has entertained audiences throughout the province.
While Cohen enjoys classical music, he can also do renditions of contemporary music, especially pop songs from the 1980s. He can also play the piano.
At DHS, Cohen was the only Indian chorister. Much of the choir’s repertoire included ethnic music, but he adapted easily.
Cohen has the sciences in his sights after matric and said he hoped to share his Spanish experience with his children some day. “I definitely want to play the piano in church.”
His mother, Jolene, said her son was a disciplined “gentleman” with musical prowess in his genes.
Jolene sings in her church choir and her husband Sundrasen, a guitarist, is passionate about music.
Jolene’s brother, Ravi Naidoo, is station manager of Highveld, and her sister, Benita Peters, was a well-known cabaret singer in the 1990s.