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Twin Rivers Primary choir

Swagga T: Cool Lifestyle Writer

Music brings joy to many hearts.

Many teenagers sing along to songs from their favourite stars, but do not have a chance to meet the singers let alone get the permission to perform the songs. There are great musicians locally from hip-hop, sungura, dancehall to Afro-pop from artistes such as Oliver Mtukudzi, Alick Macheso, Hope Masike, Tehn Diamond, Jah Prayzah, Stunner, Cindy Munyavi and Winky D among others.It would be exciting to do a rendition of your favourite star. This is the case with Twin Rivers Primary School who are set to perform a selection of Oliver Mtukudzi’s music, such as “Todii” and “Neria” at a concert at the school this year and next year’s edition of Drakensberg Festival in South Africa.

The legend Tuku who earlier visited the school to the surprise of teachers and pupils alike, met the choristers and had a listener’s session of some of the songs and he said, “They sang it better than I do!”

Mtukudzi was reportedly thrilled that the Twin Rivers choir would be highlighting his music at the festival, where accommodation for the week has already been sold out.

Mtukudzi agreed to travel with the choir to the festival and to accompany the choir on stage in the Drakies auditorium.

Ahead of their tour the Twin Rivers choristers will be performing alongside Mtukudzi, at a concert in the school hall on December 1 as part of the school’s choir fundraising drive.

“This concert will be open to the general public. Twin Rivers, a member of the Association of Trust Schools as well as of the Conference of Heads of Independent Schools in Zimbabwe and which caters for both boys and girls from Grade Zero to Grade Seven, is proud of its outreach programme and its choir regularly performs with those of other private schools, as well as with the choirs of Government schools such as Hallingbury, Avondale and Highlands,” said Hans Christen, the school headmaster.

However, a positive spin-off of the tour to the Drakensberg is that the Twin Rivers music staff will have the opportunity to take part in workshops and to study the methods used by the Drakies’ choral conductor, Bernard Kruger.

Philanthropist Mtukudzi, in his capacity as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has insisted that all proceeds from the December concert should go towards the Twin Rivers choir tour, on the understanding that knowledge gleaned by the Twin Rivers music staff should filter through to the music staff at other schools for the benefit of Zimbabwe school choral music in general.

Twin Rivers choir last term won the 2016 Harare annual Choir of the Year competition against Avondale, Barwick, Eaglesvale, Hellenic, Heritage and Highlands. In SA, they will share notes with the Drakensberg Boys Choir School that was founded in 1967 and has presented its choral programmes internationally, including North America, the Far East, across the continent of Africa as well as in Europe. In 1973 they won the World Festival of Choirs competition.

The choir has presented concerts in the United States four times.

Oliver Mtukudzi

In Europe they have sung in the UK, Hungary, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Finland, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Poland and, by Papal request, at the Vatican City before 25 000 people.

The choir — affectionately known as the Drakies — has toured across much of southern and central Africa, singing in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and in Egypt.

It has also undertaken tours to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Japan and Australia.