TYGERBERG CHILDREN'S CHOIR TURNS 40
One of South Africa's proudest musical export products reaches a monumental milestone
For four glorious decades the Tygerberg Children's Choir, based in Cape Town's Northern Suburbs and under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Hennie Loock with Theresa Loock as arranger and accompanist, has taken lovers of choral music on a very special musical journey. The choir regularly performs with great aplomb for heads of state, princes, kings and queens and is one of South-Africa's proudest export products. The choir has won every major international choral competition since its inception in 1972, and its unsurpassed legato singing, maturity of sound, musical power and dynamic interpretation of very difficult material makes Tygerberg Children's Choir a foremost exponent in the world of international competition choirs.
In July 2010, these highly talented children participated in the world's flagship choral competition, the 6th World Choir Games in Shaoxing, China, where they received two gold medals and were crowned Double World Champions - in the Religions of the World and Folklore categories. The World Choir Games is widely regarded as the 'Olympic Games" for choirs, and only the very best choirs from all over the world are invited to participate. The fact that Tygerberg Children's Choir is a children's choir aged between 10 and 14, and that these results were obtained against much older choirs, makes the achievement even more remarkable. Being crowned world champions in two categories catapulted the choir to the 4th position overall on the official Musica Mundi World Ranking List for choirs.
In July this year, the choir will participate in the 7th World Choir Games, this time in Cincinnati, Ohio to defend its position achieved two years ago.
And this year, 2012, is reunion year. The 40th Reunion will take place from 6-9 December, with a Gala Reunion Concert in Artscape Opera House on Saturday 8 December at 19:30. The choir will be joined by a wide array of artists, of which the majority will be ex-choristers. Bookings will open soon at Computicket.
