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Drakensberg Boys' Choir School

Coordinates: 29°01′20″S 29°26′08″E / 29.02222°S 29.43556°E / -29.02222; 29.43556
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Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School is a school near the small town of Winterton, in the heart of the Drakensberg mountain range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

It educates the members of Drakensberg Boys' Choir. The school was founded in 1967 and claims to be the only choir school in Africa. Enrollment is approximately 100 boys aged 9 to 15. The school has a 600-seat auditorium constructed in 1995 and holds weekly concerts. The Choir has toured the USA, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mauritius and many African countries.

The Mission of the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School is to prepare boys for life and leadership through excellence in music, academics, sport and social enrichment in a Christian environment.

There are two clearly separate but at the same time closely related aspects of the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School. There is the School itself and then there is the Choir, and the one cannot operate independently of the other. It is this co-existence that provides the Choir School with its unique and dynamic character. It is a unique institution in that it is the only Choir School in Africa, and there are probably very few other such similar musical / educational combinations in the world.

History

On January 23 1967, John Tungay's dream became a reality, and the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School opened its doors for the first time to 20 pupils, all of whom had been carefully selected from numerous auditions held across the country.

Within in a relatively short time, the enrolment increased substantially to a little over 100, with boys aged 9 - 15, allocated places in Grade 4 - 9, and this number has been sustained ever since.

In the 35 years of its existence, the School has faced enormous challenges in order to survive, not the least being the high cost of managing a specialised school with specialised staff in a somewhat isolated area in South Africa.

The entire Tungay family, Ron and Gwen and John, and subsequently Russell, were intimately involved in laying the foundations in one way and another of the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School. How little they could have realised how much of a national asset their dreams and hard work, in often the most difficult and challenging circumstances, would become.

The Choir School draws its inspiration from the idyllic environment of the Champagne Valley situated in the Central Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, which is filled, daily, with the sound of boys singing, surely one of the purest expressions of musical delights in the world.

School

Facilities at the School have always been rather primitive, although in 2006 a brand new academic facility was opened. The construction of a six hundred seat Auditorium in 1995 with modern sound and lighting equipment, allowed the Choir School to surge further forward and upwards, with the result that at its weekly Wednesday Concerts, and its numerous festivals throughout the year, the Auditorium is filled to near capacity with tourists local and international tourists, visiting schools, and at the School's festivals, South African citizens from across the country. There has also been construction of a new boarding establishment, of which phase one was completed at the start of 2009. It has brought on a large improvement in privacy and comfort.

Set on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) estate in the Drakensberg, the facilities at the school have from inception been based on a “farm school” structure. The move from a small 80 seater hall to a 600 seater auditorium in 1995 with modern sound and lighting equipment, allowed the choir to surge ahead. Today, the Auditorium is filled to near capacity during the weekly Wednesday concerts and music festivals throughout the year.

In partnership with corporate supporters, a strategic plan to upgrade facilities is currently in place and through a phased approach will see the conversion of the current infrastructure into modern facilities compete with the best independent schools in the country.

Even with the proposed upgrading, the country atmosphere will never be lost.

The size of the school dictates small classes and an enviable teacher / pupil ratio, which allows teachers to work with – and understand – each pupil as an individual

Tours

From an early age, the Drakensberg Boys' Choir has toured internationally, and the countries visited - and where the Choir has been received with consistent acclaim - include the USA and Canada in the West, Japan and Taiwan in the Far East, the entire continent of Africa, and virtually every country in Europe.

Every year, the Choir plans to tour overseas, and such is its national and international reputation, the School is able to generate funds for its Capital Development Plans and makes a major contribution in this way to its very high running expenses. As can be seen below, the Choir has represented its country on numerous occasions, bringing great credit to itself, and immense joy to its patrons.

The Choir has been to the United States four times, (with the freedom of Jacksonville, Spartanburg and a special award from Disney's Magic Kingdom being conferred on them) and to Canada. During their second visit to the USA, four soloists took the top honours at an International Singing Competition in Des Moines, Iowa.

In Europe they have sung in the UK, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Portugal, Greece, Poland and, by Papal request, at the Vatican City before 25,000 people. During the Choir School's 25th anniversary year, the Choir was acclaimed one of the best in the world in the triennial World Boys' Choir Festival in Poznań, Poland.

The boys have toured much of Africa, singing in Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia. The boys have also undertaken tours to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Japan, Turkey, Finland, Australia and Scandinavia, and the Choir has just received an invitation to undertake tours to China and Korea.

One of the Choir's major triumphs has been its tours, at the invitation of the Min On Cultural Organisation, to Japan in 1997, 2001 and 2002.

In 1997, the Choir performed 32 concerts in a seven week tour, and sang to full houses on each occasion, the audiences totalling approximately 50,000 people. The undertaking was repeated in 2001, and the Choir experienced a similar reaction in 2002.

The Music

The choir was most recently conducted by Christian Ashley-Botha, who left the choir in 2006 after 26 years of loyal service, Rudolph de Beer who left in 2006 and Bernard Kruger who left at the end of 2009 after three years of extreme dedication and major improvements to the choir. The choir is currently conducted by Johann van der Sandt.

The Choir is representative of the multi-faceted cultures that make up South Africa. It has created a new trend in the international choral scene that transcends the conventional. A unique style of diversity - Bach, Beethoven, Freddie Mercury, African sounds, Jazz, Folk, etc.

The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir captivates audiences with its unique and diverse style of music, which demonstrates the versatility and depth of the Choir’s ability. This can be especially seen and heard with the recent addition of more modern art music. The Choir is internationally acclaimed for its unique African repertoire, containing various traditional works like 'Shosholoza', and 'Night Sounds' where the boys imitate the sounds of the African Bush. They also perform a ‘Gumboot Dance’, which originated on the South African mines. Using authentic African instruments and body percussion as accompaniment, the boys perform traditional African works as have never been experienced before!

The Choir also excels in music such as Handel’s "Messiah", Mozart’s "Requiem", Bernstein’s "Chichester Psalms", Bach’s "Magnificat", and many more works of this stature.

Albums

The Drakensberg Boys' Choir School has for sale many CDs from traditional African music to Andrew Lloyd Webber. These are available to order from the school's website. Their most recent album is titled "Tönet!", was conducted by Bernard Kruger, and features "Somebody To Love" by Freddie Mercury, "Hear My Prayer, O Lord" by Henry Purcell", Mendelssohn's setting of Psalm 2 and "Big Girls" by Mika, among others.

External links

29°01′20″S 29°26′08″E / 29.02222°S 29.43556°E / -29.02222; 29.43556

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