South Africa Day 14 - Concert in Pietermaritzburg

After a delicious breakfast, we set off at around 9:30 to the Laddsworth Primary School in Hilton, which is located on a beautiful, spacious campus. Boys and girls from grades one to seven are taught here.

We first warmed up in a large hall and then performed a few of our songs, including the Queen songs and Witness, for around 500 primary school students who were waiting for us with joyful waves. The young audience was very enthusiastic! We then gave the school choir, consisting of 80 singers, a workshop in which we worked on the Bavarian folk song "Rock Mi" and danced with the primary school students. In return, they taught us the South African song "Babalela", which consists of four parts that are sung alternately by the different voices and which alternates between English, Zulu and Afrikaans. We rehearsed both pieces for the joint performance in the evening and while the students were saying goodbye for their break, we had a short rehearsal for the concert. Before we went back to the hotel, we were given a small snack (hot dogs, fruit, ...) and a keychain as a gift from the school. Back at the hotel, many of us were impressed by the very cold temperatures of the pool.

At around 3:30 p.m. we drove back to Laddsworth Primary School, where the students' parents provided us with a warm meal. There was a traditional South African dish - potjie, a stew prepared outside in pots. For dessert we were given a two-tiered cake decorated with African motifs and even a greeting to the chamber choir, which a student and her mom had worked on for an incredible 19 hours. The time spent was definitely worth it in terms of taste too!!

After the delicious meal, we played a little football game among the chamber choir members. In our changing room, we found a love letter from Thea, a student, in which she confessed her love to us, which motivated us even more for the performance ;) Soon after, it was time for a final vocal rehearsal, during which we also learned an additional African song called "Baba Yetu", of course with the accompanying choreography ;), together with the Laddsworth Primary School Choir and the KZN Midlands Youth Choir. The latter consists of 50 singers who undergo a strict application process to join the choir. According to this, every year only 20 are selected from 1000 applicants who have to audition and are also tested on their rhythmic sense of beat and expression.

At 6 p.m. the school choir opened the concert with a diverse program. This was followed by the KZN Midlands Youth Choir, which also performed a variety of different pieces. Next it was our turn and we presented some pieces from our repertoire. After our performance the school choir came on stage and together we performed the songs we had worked on that morning. The crowning conclusion of the day was the singing of all the choirs together. Of course it wasn't over after "Baba Yetu" and so, motivated by the good atmosphere in the hall, we performed the unofficial African anthem "Shosholoza" and "Kwangena".

After a successful concert, there was still time for a short chat with the other choirs and then we set off back to our hotel by bus. Once we got there, we had delicious wraps for dinner and at 9.30 p.m. we all sat down together to reflect on the trip and look ahead to the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, today was our last evening together, so we used it to play cards or just chat. Some people were (more or less) happy about a new hairstyle. ;)