Maragon Private Schools hosted a five-day choir festival, which saw 22 choirs sing their hearts out.
The festival, named Megafest of Choirs, ran from 22 to 26 May, was the first of its kind to give exposure to school and adult choirs. The vision for the festival came from the deputy principal of Maragon’s primary school, David Maree.
On 25 May, four days in, the hall was still filled with parents and community members. The likes of Laërskool Horison, Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge and Bryanston Parallel Medium School, among others, filled the stage with a variety of songs, instruments and personalities.
On the evening, Ashleigh Bateman, deputy principal of the primary school, said, “As you watch tonight’s spectacular performances and as you hear the children sing you will be moved. You will find yourself smiling and fully immersed in the greatness of the moment. My wish for you tonight is that when you leave you will be emotionally and spiritually fulfilled and you will have experienced great peace and joy.”
The idea emerged when Maree promised the cultural department he would put them on the map and raise cultural activities to the same level as sport. Maree had met Johan Bester from KariSma, who had been a consultant for the school choir and together, with the help of other teachers, the Megafest of Choirs was born.
Maree explained he wanted to have a combination of choirs so that they could learn from one another. “I never realised it would be this big. It has brought the community together and is not a competition but an opportunity to be on stage and perform for the fun of it and for entertainment value. They are all winners,” said Maree.
He hopes the festival will become an annual calendar event and wishes to invite international choirs to join next year. He added that putting the festival together had been an incredible journey for the school and he wished to give credit to Bester and teachers, Annelise Botha and Christa van Gerve as well as all the other supporters and sponsors.
The night of 25 May ended off with a special performance by all five choirs who were present on the night. All the choirs, around 300 voices, were led in song by Bester for a surround-sound experience.
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