Fan favorite and overall winner
Stellenbosch University Choir wins national TV show
Stellenbosch University Choir from South Africa – long-term leader of the INTERKULTUR World Rankings and record World Choir Games Champion – is also the number one choir in their home country. Yesterday evening they won the choir competition “Varsity Sing” which has been aired in national television since July in order to determine South Africa’s best choir.
In yesterday’s final show there were four choirs left to perform in the live broadcast: The choirs of Johannesburg University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University as well as Pretoria and Stellenbosch University.
The Stellenbosch choir and their conductor André van der Merwe were the third to go on stage and wowed the audience with three pieces: The Conversation of Saul, composed by Z. Randall Stroope followed by Ave Maria, their Own Choice and finally performed once again Toe Vind Ek Jou, the Afrikaans hit that had already impressed everyone during their first appearance at Varsity Sing in July.
Stellenbosch’s Award includes a R70.000 prize. They also won the Fan Favorite Award, voted by the audience directly which brings them another R50.000 prize money.
The University of Pretoria Camerata that will participate in the Grand Prix of Nations in Riga 2017 came in third place yesterday evening being the last act of the show. The Varsity Sing website says about their performance of Great God Almighty by Stacey Gibb: “The ‘hum-hum’ sounds felt like a chase was taking place, while the sound of chains hitting the floor built up tension. Their claps symbolised whips and the combination of all these elements painted a picture of biblical proportions. It was an epic conclusion to the show.”
"Varsity Sing" was an excellent foretaste of the upcoming World Choir Games 2018 to be held in Tshwane, South Africa. More information can be found at www.wcg2018.com.
