IN a plight to revive choral music, the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (DSRAC) MEC Bulelwa Tunyiswa held two successful meetings with prominent Eastern Cape music associations to find ways to promote the genre in the province.
MEC Tunyiswa noted the role of choral music in furthering the department’s mandate of nation building and social cohesion.
“The Eastern Cape Choral Music Association, (ECCMA) and Guild of Choral and Indigenous Music Practitioners in Eastern Cape (GCIMP-EC), have both made impressive and important strides in developing choral music in the Province,” she said.
The following agreements were reached during the meetings:
- Plans must be advanced to host the annual O.R Tambo Choral Music Competitions in the first week of December 2018 with all provincial choirs participating irrespective of affiliation
- DSRAC must drive the O.R. Tambo Provincial Choral Music Competition this year, working with a task team that constitutes representatives from both choral music associations, up to the final stage of the event.
- A workshop/ seminar on both prescriptions (GCIMP-EC and ECCMA syllabus) will be held not later than the first week of October 2018, choirs from both organizations will benefit.
- Lastly, Build-ups in the form of eliminations must take place in all districts within the month of October 2018.
“It is encouraging to see a willingness to work and cooperate with each other in promoting this musical heritage of our Province through Choral Music,” said MEC Tunyiswa.
She added: “Since 2003, the Department has been at the forefront of advancing choral music in the province and sending choristers, soloists and choral practitioners to national stages as our true ambassadors. We are enthused with the steps we have decided to take in promoting this musical heritage in our Province.”