Twenty schools in Mthatha went head-to-head in the much anticipated regional qualifiers of the SA Schools Choral Eisteddfod (Sasce) on Sunday and Monday.
Eleven high schools and nine primary schools sang their lungs out at the regional leg of the competition as they battled it out for a chance to compete at the OR Tambo district competition.
The region, already known for school choirs that have won national accolades, did not disappoint as the pupils gave their all.
Mandela Park Primary school cleaned up at junior level, bagging seven of nine categories, while Zimele Senior Secondary were the overall winners in the senior category.
According to Mthatha district Sasce secretary Nosipho Maqelwane, schools that had qualified for the national competition were put in a separate category.
“We wanted top schools to compete with each other. This year, schools that have competed in national division for three consecutive years were grouped.
“This would give other schools a better opportunity to qualify,” said Maqelwane.
In the high schools division, Umtata Technical High and Zimele Senior Secondary were the big winners.
Zimele Senior Secondary took first prize in the small ensemble, Afrikaans, preamble, female and male voice categories.
In 2013, the school won national first prizes for Afrikaans and female voice and last year the school competed in the national championships.
At the forefront of Zimele’s success is seasoned choral conductor and principal Sibabalwe Mjali, who has seen it all in terms of the competitiveness of the event.
“We as teachers working with the department must make sure we nurture the talent of this event. We must tell our kids that not everyone will be an engineer.
“This is not just about music – now pupils are taught presentation skills and other sources of skills,” he said.
Mjali, who used to sing in the competition during his school days, has taken two different schools to the nationals.
“It is a strenuous thing to do because we have limited resources this side , but I do it for the love of music,” he said.
Other winners on the day were Nozuko High school, which won the mezzo and bass category, Ngangelizwe Senior Secondary, which won the tenor division, and Umtata Tech, which came first in the vernacular category.
In the junior division, Mandela Park Primary school won seven out of nine choral categories.
The school won first prize on the Western girls choir, boys choir, intermediaries boys choir, Afrikaans, preamble, Western boys choir and male vernacular categories.
Other winners were Umtata Community Primary school with first prize in the folklore category and Jonguhlanga Junior Secondary school, which won the female vernacular category.
The provincial choral finals will be hosted in Mthatha on a date yet to be confirmed.
Winners will be afforded the opportunity to represent their schools and provinces in the national championships in Randburg, Johannesburg, later this year. —
mandilakhek@dispatch. co.za