EMIHLE MBANGATHA
Clarendon High School for Girls’ De Novo Serenata chamber choir have done it again, achieving a gold award and finishing fourth in their category in the final of the annual ATKV Applous national choir competition in Cape Town on July 27.
The ATKV Applous competition is the most prestigious choral competition in SA. It is now in its 47th year and 292 choirs entered.
The competition has two rounds, with the first round being regional and adjudicators travelling to listen to choirs, and a few are selected for the final round in Cape Town.
The competition has categories for high schools, including open, merit, and prestige, with divisions for boys, girls, and mixed.
Clarendon choir conductor Michelle Wiseman said they competed in the most competitive category, which is the prestige girls and there are no overall winners as such, but there are awards for best African work, best Afrikaans work, and best prescribed work.
This is De Novo Serenata’s fifth time entering the competition and their first time scooping a gold award.
In 2022 they were selected for the finals, where they achieved a silver.
Even though the group did not win the competition, Wiseman expressed her pride in them and her gratitude for having them participate against some of the country’s best choirs.
“We didn’t win, however, I am incredibly proud of the group.
“We are the smallest choir to enter our category and one of the smallest in the whole competition.
“Yet, we were considered to be at a high enough standard to compete against the best choirs in the country,” Wiseman said.
“This particular group has been singing together for years and has developed such a strong work ethic.
“They learn music really fast, and they practise in their own time as well. We have also had many performances before this competition, so the music was well-rehearsed.
“Winning the gold award was a gratifying experience. We are so happy as we received a silver award last time we were at the final. Our overall percentage improved by 9%, so that was fantastic,” she said.
Wiseman revealed their secret to success is that she priorotises establishing sisterhood among the young girls, which she believes is what empowers the choir to put on amazing performances.
“I aim to foster an environment that promotes connection, trust, confidence, diligence, and responsibility. The girls have seen the benefit of developing these qualities and how they affect their singing, and this shines through on-stage during performance.”
Choir member Pulo Mpunga expressed her excitement at receiving a gold award, stating: “We worked really hard to get to where we are and it was a great experience because I got to do a lot with the people I love, and seeing new places was an added bonus, we knew that a gold is something we wanted, and this motivated us.”
