About 10 Limpopo high school choirs and several community choirs performed admirably at the inaugural National Anthem Festival hosted by the University of Limpopo (UL) as part of the Africa Day celebrations in May 25.
The biannual festival was founded by the university to promote African identity, pride, and heritage through song. Each year, the festival choirs will perform national anthems from at least 15 countries, with a balance of four regions, namely north, east, west, and south.
The selected national anthems for this edition performed by the participating choirs in community and high school categories were Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Angola, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
The Sekhukhune East Education District’s Mamolobela Secondary School from Ga-Makofane village bested several other high school district champions to win the coveted first-ever National Anthem Festival championship, singing the South African national anthem. The school’s choir conductor, Samuel Sehlapelo stated that the choir won due to their hard work, passion, and dedication. He stated that the choir went above and beyond to perform the anthem with distinction and precision.
Capricorn Chorus conductor Timothy Matlala, who was also excited about the festival, said taking second place in the community choirs’ category meant a lot to the choristers.
“Being part of the inaugural national anthem festival was an honour and most definitely a gratifying experience. As community choirs are regrouping post-Covid-19 hard regulations, our choir needed such a great and well-organized event to do what we are passionate about,” he said.
Other high school choirs that walked away with prizes in the High School category were Lehwelere Secondary School from Sekhukhune South (second position), which performed the Algerian anthem “Qassaman,” and EPP Mhinga Secondary School from Vhembe East District (third position), which performed the Senegalese anthem “Le Lion Rouge”.
The Africa Day event was hosted by the University of Limpopo in collaboration with the National Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture and the Limpopo Provincial Government, where various cultural groups, including some from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as diplomatic corps and other dignitaries, gathered in their diversity to observe the day.
The Festival, among other things, promotes social cohesion among African nations and provides a platform for African musicians to showcase their talent.
By Moses Moreroa