Kearsney College welcomes a new choir master next year and bids a fond farewell to its current music maestro. Kamcilla Pillay spoke to incoming master, Marshell Lombard, about his plans for the choir, one of the top school choirs in the world, and to its outgoing leader Bernard Kruger. Kruger will join the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir after the recent departure of Dr Johann van der Sandt
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Marshell Lombard
Moving to KwaZulu-Natal to take up his new position was an adventure. That’s how Lombard, a self-confessed “Joburger” described his new job.
“I have always been happy in Durban, so I’m looking forward to the move. I enjoy the weather, too.”
Lombard has close ties with the province.
“Music has always been a strong part of my life. In fact, I started singing at Drakies, from 1998 to 2000.”
Lombard grew up playing musical instruments and singing in many competitions.
He drew inspiration from many different genres of music, including country and western, pop and African folk.
“Choirs are not just about classical music. They are about drawing from different sources of inspiration and making the music your own.”
After Drakies, Lombard spent three years at Pro Arte Alphen Park School in Pretoria, before moving to London for two years.
“I needed to take the time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. These were ‘gap years’,” he said.
While in Pretoria, he received best male soloist awards for three consecutive years.
He moved on to North West University where he majored in classical singing, and graduated with an Honours degree.
During this time he also sang for the World Youth Choir and for a six-member a cappella (no musical accompaniment) vocal ensemble group, The Boulevard Harmonists.
The Boulevard Harmonists won the award for best Vocal Ensemble Group at the Prague Christmas Competition in 2008.
“I love music and I am privileged to be able to teach it.”
He said he was “hugely excited” to begin training the Kearsney boys.
“I have many, many plans. I’ve been talking to Bernard and using him as my sounding board. The choir at Kearsney is so much more than just that: they are well-rounded boys, interested in many other activities. I want to tap into that.
“It’s all about taking them and the audience to new heights.” He said he intended to draw inspiration from all over the world, especially from African traditional music.
Lombard was full of praise for Kruger.
“His name precedes him. He is a great musician. I hope to learn from him as the choir changes hands.”
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Bernard Kruger
Bernard Kruger’s love of music was fostered by his mother, a music teacher.
“There was always music in the house, but I never thought of it as a career until I attended a music camp in Pretoria as a young man.
“It was only then that I thought: ‘Hang on, this might actually be a possibility.’”
Kruger, educated at the Royal Conservatoire in the Netherlands and originally from eManzimtoti, said he had grown up playing musical instruments, and began his music career in the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, playing the French horn.
He also had a three-year stint as a conductor at the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir and had been part of Kearsney’s staff since 2009.
“I’ve been involved in Playhouse productions, in fact one while I was still in matric. I had very nice experiences, growing up in the industry.”
Kruger had never considered himself a singer.
“I was mostly into my instruments, but once I embraced my voice, it sort of snowballed and I became a vocal professor.”
He said the move to Drakies had filled him with “mixed feelings”.
“Kearsney is like a home to me. It is indeed a wonderful place and has been good to me. It has great facilities and was so supportive of the boys and me. What I like about the school is that it promotes a balance between academics and other activities, like music.”
He said investment in these kinds of activities helped boys in their development.
Kruger said returning to Drakies felt “quite strange”, because he was fairly new to the field when he first joined them.
“Now I have lots of experience, have proven myself and will be taken far more seriously. It’s difficult to explain: I’m going back, but it feels different. Perhaps I’m different now too.”
He said both institutions were “world-class” and were full of potential. “I’ve got big plans (for Drakies).”
Kruger said choral music had undergone “huge transformations” over the past decade.
“Now you have movies and TV programmes like Pitch Perfect, Glee and America’s Got Talent that are hugely influential in shaping society’s and youngsters’ views on singing. It’s now more popular than ever.”
He to take “stock of traditions” at Drakies and then experiment. “People want to be entertained. They want to experience something new, something theatrical.”
Visual aspects, he said, were important because we lived in a “world of uploads”. “If it ends up on YouTube and goes viral, it needs to be good.”