Saturday 8th July
This last official day of tour would rival Day 1 as the
longest day! We were up and having breakfast at 7 am and the boys left in their
gumboots for their Scenic Folklore sound check at the State Theatre. I stayed behind at the hotel to update
Facebook with the Scenic Pop videos. Shortly after returning and a short time
to rest – we were preparing to leave for the State Theatre once again. Just before we left Wandile Linda and Thando
Skwatsha offered their encouragement to the boys. We were to perform first in order for us to
transfer to the next venue, ZK Matthews Hall at UNISA for the Music of Spirit
and Faith Category timeously. The boys
only had a one hour wait this time which was well-used as a warm-up period and
received a pre-performance talk from Ross Arde and Hector Mnyayiza – who were
both 1st XV rugby players (Hector also played KZN Schools in Brad
Barrit’s team) and both jointly led the Choir in 2004. Their talk emphasised the comradery and
brotherhood the choir allows which is worth far more than any achievement. The boys exploded onto the stage in their
colourful costumes. The energy was
palpable, each boy put in 100% and they maintained that level for the entire
repertoire. The solos were sung with
more feeling than we have witnessed before and the boys were moved to tears
after they left the stage – they knew that this was a special performance. They received standing ovations in the middle
of their performance particularly after their synchronised and vibrant gumboot
dance routine. The bubbly mood continued until we reached UNISA where the boys
had a few group photographs taken and changed on the bus in readiness for their
performance. We performed last in this
category – which was a closely contested competition between all the
choirs. This category well represented
the international participation of the World Choir Games. The boys gave a very
different performance to the ones we viewed and once again delighted the
audience. The vibrant mood of the boys
continued as they left the hall singing Shosholoza. We ate dinner in the bus, sewed a couple of
pairs of split pants (indicative of the energy put into the performance!) and
the boys changed into their outfits for the awards ceremony. The start of the ceremony was delayed due to
some category decisions still outstanding due to late starts. Music and song
filled the arena which was filled with excited choirs awaiting their results. The boys fully made use of the time to
socialise, with especially the Russian girls’ choir! The Awards ceremony is always very long with
the every choir formally presented with their medals and certificates for each
category. And so the wait was filled with adrenaline and anticipation. The Scenic Pop Category was announced first
and the boys were most satisfied with their gold medal (85%) and third
place. Harmonize from Korea was placed
second and Bernard Kruger and his Drakensberg Choir were announced as Champions
for that category. The boys (many of
whom are Drakies Old Boys) celebrated the win for these young and talented
choristers. The Music of Spitrit and Faith was next after another wait – to
receive gold (and 4th place) in this category was a bonus! The most anticipated category of Scenic Folklore
was announced last. The announcement of
78% and a silver medal (third place) was somewhat perplexing to the choir and
their supporters - who knew what the presentation had cost them in energy and
effort. This was a low-scoring category
with the winners, St Mary’s, gaining a well-deserved champion status of 82.5%. South Africa was the country that received
the most number of choirs with Champion status.
Drakensberg Boys Choir (1 title) Tygerberg Children’s Choir (2 titles)
St Mary’s DSG Kloof (1 title) and University of Johannesberg (1 title). The boys returned to the hotel at midnight
emotionally and physically drained after a wonderful 12 day tour wherein they
bonded as brothers and made the Kearsney family so proud. The boys added three
medals to the Kearsney Choir treasure chest, bringing the choir’s tally to 15
gold medals.