Durban - Taking traditional isiZulu music to the world stage, award-winning Kholwa Brothers Isicathamiya choir will perform at the World Championships for Performing Arts in Los Angeles scheduled for July.
Covid struck their initial joy down after they were crowned champions at the South African national championships in Rustenburg at the beginning of December 2020, but everything was locked down
Veteran musician Beverly MacGregor collaborated with the choir.
Founder of the Kholwa Brothers, Derrick Mlambo from Ntuzuma, said the group was excited about the opportunity.
“We are over the moon about the trip as a group, simply because it confirms what I have been telling the boys ‒ that if they work hard, focus on what God gave them and polish their art, good things will come their way.
“It is happening now, we are going to be up against more than 60 countries there.
“We are excited knowing that there are possibilities for the group to further grow because there will be talent scouts there.
“There are so many opportunities that might come up, and also the fact that we will be representing our country and KZN,” said Mlambo.
He said he expected to bring home gold medals.
“We are longing to grab those gold medals and bring them to South Africa and get the right people who will be able to identify the group and maybe want to work with it,” said Mlambo.
He said they had put together a number of exciting songs for the championships.
Mlambo said the choir teamed up with Durban composer and musician MacGregor in 2020 and have formed a winning collaboration known as the Kholwa Project.
MacGregor, who won 10 solo awards at the national championships, as well as those with the Kholwa Project, said working with them had been an exciting journey “because of the type of music they are playing”.
“They play refreshing music and nobody has ever done this type of music since Mango Groove and Johnny Clegg, that is the most exciting part of creating music with them,” said MacGregor.
She said she was devastated that the competition was put on hold last year.
“We were very disappointed because we did very well, coming first in many sessions at the South African Championship.
“We were overall winners, so we thought it was a chance to compete in the World Championship.
“We felt our chance had been flushed because of Covid,” said MacGregor.
She added that the collaboration with the Kholwa Brothers and Isicathamiya music had opened a whole new world for her as a musician.
“I’m now writing a lot of music for school choirs, especially rural schools, and it makes me feel honoured and blessed,” said MacGregor.
She said they were more than prepared for the world championship competition.
“We would like to win.”
The Independent on Saturday