Sing Africa!
 

Pre-trip and "We're off!" - the long journey to the other side of the world

"The people here are so friendly" - visiting Soweto and Pam's Creche







"African languages are singing languages" - a workshop with Michael Dingaan






"A lot of sad emotions" - an afternoon at Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum

"The energy was electric" - a benefit concert for St. Peter's Care

"Eating dried worms" at the Lesedi Cultural Village







"People cried and clapped and laughed and loved" - Philadelphia Ministries







"Cruising around and looking at animals" - in the Pilanesberg National Park






"You are in for the time of your lives!" - a day with the Drakensberg Boys Choir






"I marveled at the love" - new friendships made at Siyabonga Helping Hands






"This is where the South African future was moulded" - Robben Island

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(Benoit Ferradini/CBC)

There wasn't a single day that was more anticipated than the visit to Drakensberg and the collaboration with the Drakensberg Boys Choir. We pulled into the region late afternoon on July 12th and checked ourselves into the most luxurious accomodation of the tour - the Champagne Castle Hotel.  But it was the next day everyone was all revved up for. It even merited a full evening spent by the chaperones steaming the girls performance uniforms!

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Some experiences are so special they will resonate with you for the rest of your life. Let's face it - this South African trip has been full of those kinds of moments.  Repeatedly we have been enchanted with the genuine warmth and kindness South Africans from all walks of life have shown to us.  That happened again on July 10th in the small town of Mogwase.  The Saskatoon Children's Choir were the special guests of a Christian congregation called Philadelphia Ministries.  Before visiting the congregation we had a hunch we were in for a special treat.  That was confirmed the moment we pulled up out front and heard spirited and soulful keyboards, bass and drums coming from the open window - and this was before church had even started!

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(Benoît Ferradini/CBC)

When you're going on a tour with 42 high school students you've got to find moments that are just pure entertainment.  The Lesedi Cultural Village was the perfect fun fix for the girls.  We stopped there on the way to Pilanesburg for a quick trip through 5 traditional tribal villages: Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho, Ndebele and Pedi.  Along the way, the girls learned how to greet people in the different languages, learned that a Zulu man without cattle is "no man at all".  They loved that!  Some of them plan on using that line on boys back in Saskatchewan.  A few of them took advantage of the opportunity to sample a traditional African delicacy - crispy worms!  Apparently they taste like sun chips...

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A concert tour is nothing without concerts, and today marked the choir's first official South African performance.  It was a benefit concert for an organization called St. Peter's Care.  They are one of many organizations trying tackle the immense problem of orphaned children in the country.  In the afternoon, the girls spent some time learning about the organisation from Edgar Voigts.  He began by asking them to close their eyes and imagine their lives without a mother, without a father, without an extended family, without siblings - a world without roots.  Then he asked them what was missing in that picture.  One of the choristers responded with the word "love".  And of course she was right.

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Whenever the Saskatoon Children's Choir goes on an international adventure they have workshops with local conductors.  It's part of the beauty of the experience.  Phoebe Voigts gets to step back and observe the action, and the choir gets a whole new musical perspective.  I don't think they had any idea what they were in for when they rolled into Holy Cross Anglican Church in Soweto, though. They certainly weren't expecting to spend the afternoon  singing pretty complex African songs in several different languages!
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Any major international flight can be daunting - but when you consider the fact that the flight from Washington, DC, to Johannesburg, South Africa lasts a good 19 hours that raises things to another level entirely!  The Saskatoon Children's Choir took it all in stride, though.  They entertained themselves in the airport lobby by playing with small children, spending loads of time braiding each others' hair, and browsing around the airport shops for a little entertainment. Read more »

 (Benoît Ferradini/CBC)

What started out as individual adventures on the way to Washington, D.C. became our first collective gathering in our hotel near the Washington Dulles airport. The Saskatoon Children's Choir had started their day at the Saskatoon airport at 4:00 am Tuesday morning and didn't roll into Washington until 14 hours later.  All the girls had plenty of down time on the plane, and at least one of them used that time to jot down a few thoughts about embarking on this experience.  Julie wrote, "Travelling, stepping outside your comfort zone and crossing the boundaries of your day to day life makes you realize that your world is not the world.  I look forward to expanding my world in South Africa, a place that has only existed to me as a map, book or conversation.  Now it will become reality".

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The Saskatoon Children's Choir has always had a strong committment to humanitarian initiatives.  For this trip, they've raised money to put together school kits for African children, and they'll be taking many of these kits with them on their trip.  Before their rehearsal on June 12, they took some time to put them together.  In less than 30 minutes the girls assembled 350 kits!  Each chorister will take one kit in her suitcase and the rest will be mailed to Africa by Canadian Lutheran World Relief.

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(CBC)   

OK - there are recording gigs, and then there are recording gigs! This has to be the mother of all remotes for me and Chris.  After all, normally when we go out and record a concert in the province, we either have our recording mobile with us - which is basically a recording studio on wheels - or we have a van packed to the rafters with consoles, pre-amps, mics and mic stands, and many other "essential" pieces of gear to ensure a successful recording.

Not this time! 

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(Courtesy Anne-Marie Kalus)   

I first heard about the Saskatoon Children's Choir's journey to South Africa a little over a year ago.  On a whim, Phoebe Voigts - the choir's artistic director - sent me the details in an e-mail.  I was just about to travel to Hawaii for a holiday, and she offered it up as "some inspiring reading for the plane....".  Phoebe was encouraging me and recording engineer Chris Haynes to join the choir on their big adventure.  At the time, I didn't even give the idea serious thought - it seemed an impossible dream.  I certainly never believed I would actually be boarding the plane with them when they started their journey across the world!

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