As the University of Pretoria Youth Choir returns to the country today following a successful run at events held in Vienna, Austria and the Latvian city of Riga, Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Molebatsi Bopape has congratulated the ensemble for representing the province remarkably at the international stage.
The UP Youth Choir earned an opportunity to show off their skills to the world in Europe after the group won at the Provincial Gauteng Choral Music Festival held on the 5th of October last year, organised by the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation.
The choir went on to mesmerise audiences and win gold in the Mixed Youth Choirs category this past weekend at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. The world choral competition started from the ninth and will run until the 19th of July 2014, featuring 27,000 singers from 73 countries; making up 460 choirs that compete in 29 categories.
The victory in Riga comes after the choral group was also granted an opportunity to participate at the Suma Cum Laude International Youth Festival in Vienna, Austria, held from July 4 to 9.
MEC Bopape praised the young choir members’ spirit on their tour of Europe and said: “We’re proud of their representation and the wonderful musical performances they presented to the world, we hope that their achievements at such important international events will inspire other young people from different backgrounds and encourage them to take up choral music and participate in the programmes of the department so they too can benefit from the opportunities that this department is creating”.
The ensemble will land at the OR Tambo International Airport from Europe at 17h30 this afternoon.
For media inquiries contact:
Nomazwe Ntlokwana
Cell: 083 507 8068
Tel: 011 355 2578
E-mail: nomazwen@gpg.gov.za
