The Kingswood College Concert Band left at first bird-chirp this morning to begin their two-day long journey to Zimbabwe. The band was invited to perform at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) which sounds off on Tuesday.
The Kingswood College Concert Band left at first bird-chirp this morning to begin their two-day long journey to Zimbabwe. The band was invited to perform at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) which sounds off on Tuesday.
Before hitting up Harare, the 30-strong ensemble conducted by Stephen Holder will play two concerts at the Zimbabwe Academy of Music in Bulawayo. These concerts will be in aid of King George VI School for the Disabled, and the Academy’s Western Suburbs Project, both in Zimbabwe.
On the long trip back home, the band bus will make a stop at Elephant Inn in Musina, and give a final performance before returning to Grahamstown and launch straight into the new school term.
The young musicians are returning to Kingswood from school holiday early in order to cram in one last practice and refresh their memories before the tour.
Drummer Satchen Gush has been the band leader since November last year. He reckons the main issue in preparation for the tour has been choosing the repertoire of numbers to perform. “Everyone has their own idea of what songs are the best,” he says.
The band has rehearsed 16 pieces for the tour (nearly two hours’ worth of playing), including classical pieces as well as a Michael Jackson medley, Pirates of the Caribbean, Juluka tunes and some Mango Groove.
Band members range from grade 7 to matric, but Gush is not worried about the younger members on tour, because friendships form around instrument groups rather than grades and ages as is usual in school.
“The nice thing about music, and especially about the concert band, is that it transcends the other aspects of school,” he says.
