Enthusiastic learners from five local high schools celebrated International Peace Day with a free concert at Noluthando Hall in Joza on Wednesday.
Enthusiastic learners from five local high schools celebrated International Peace Day with a free concert at Noluthando Hall in Joza on Wednesday.
< LISTEN TO THE AUDIO CLIPS BELOW! >
Peace Day has been officially observed worldwide on 21 September since 2001, after a film-maker from the UK began to make a documentary about world peace that eventually led to the formalising of a UN resolution declaring an official day of the observance of peace.
The local event on Wednesday was organised by AwareNet (a social networking site for schools) and the Village Scribe Association which aims to find innovative ways to develop rural schools with information and communication technologies.
Five groups of learners from Benjamin Mahlasela Secondary School, Mary Waters High School, Nombulelo Secondary School, Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School, and Victoria Girls' High School performed hip-hop songs about peace and competed for the titles of Best Song, Best Rapper and Best Singer.
The learners were trained by Corinne Cooper of the Sonic Art Studio in Grahamstown, who helped them to compose their songs over the past few months, and a local hip-hop group Inyaniso. The first group randomly selected out of a hat to perform was Nombulelo, followed by Nathaniel Nyaluza, Benjamin Mahlasela, Victoria Girls' and then Mary Waters.
The crowd had been eager to see the pupils perform and rose to their feet when they started their songs. If the response from the audience was anything to go by, then the Victoria Girls' hip hop crew was the highlight of the show. They whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their dance and song's lyrics about peace.
Judges had a difficult time in determining who would be the winners as all groups gave it their all. The judges were all respected artists in their own right; and they included Erika Wertlen, manager of Left to Right; Roderich Zipp, music producer, hip-hop composer and performer; Keagan Prince, a founder of the Rhodes University Hip-Hop Society and Jared Lang, a Masters student in jazz composition at Rhodes.
Wertlen told the performers that the judges had a hard time in choosing the winners. “You all did a great job,” she said, and explained that the judges looked at the professionalism, composition, unity, technicality, and stage presence of the performers.
When the moment of truth arrived, the best rapper was Nkosikhona Mtshizana, a Grade 8 learner from Benjamin Mahlasela, who walked away with a certificate, headphones, and a Inyaniso CD. Mary Waters High School trio; Thembani Nkolongo, Hlonelikhaya Klaas and Thami Zono won the best song award and the best singer, while Victoria Girls won the best group overall.
Cooper said all the groups will be recorded on one CD, and the best song winners will have a professional video recording.
Listen to the clips:
Mary Waters:
VG:
Mahlasela
Nombulelo
Nyalusa:
