Cape Town – Stellenberg Girls Choir, also known as the “Stellies Angels”, brought glory to South Africa in winning one of the categories of a recent overseas choir festival.
The 95-strong choir returned to Cape Town International Airport yesterday after winning the Teenagers Category of the recent 8th Bali International Choir Festival in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia.
The choir of Stellenberg High School, near Bellville, was pitted against college and university choirs at the event, which hosted 102 choirs from 15 countries from July 23 to 27.
According to the choir’s manager and Afrikaans teacher, Susan du Plessis, the Stellies Angels competed in two categories: the Teenagers Category, which they won, and the Musica-Sacra Category, in which they were the runners-up.
During the competition the choir was selected with 13 other top-
performing choirs from other countries, who also competed in the championship category as category winners, to participate in the Grand Prix.
Shortly after the choir’s arrival yesterday, an ecstatic Du Plessis said: “I’m so very happy, not only that we won, but from the experience of the children and the contact with a different culture of the East and the new techniques of choirs.”
Mindful of contributors to their Teenagers Category victory, Stellies Angels and their parents thanked their conductor, Andre van der Merwe.
“I think Andre is over the moon for winning the Teenagers Category. The competition was very hard and the results were close. So we are so very happy for having won the category,” Du Plessis said.
Du Plessis said Van der Merwe was also the conductor of the Stellenbosch University Choir, and that it was the choir members’ discipline and hard work, even during school holidays, that enabled them to perform on an international level.
Although 95 of the Stellies Angels competed in the overseas competition, the choir has 101 members, said Du Plessis.