Central SA
Three school choirs, one stage: Spring celebration in Bloemfontein─── ZENANDE MPAME 15:06 Mon, 15 Sep 2025
Music has a way of bringing people together, and this spring it will unite young voices from across South Africa in Bloemfontein.
The Cape Town Children’s Choir, the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir, and the Oranje Girls’ Choir will share one stage in a celebration of music, culture, and community spirit. The spring concert will take place on Saturday, 27 September, at 15:00 in the ML Spiessaal at Meisieskool Oranje.
The Free State marks the start of the Cape Town Children’s Choir national tour, with Bloemfontein as the opening stage before the choir moves on to Kimberley and KwaZulu-Natal. “This is a fantastic opportunity for all the choirs. It is a historic event, and it speaks for itself to have young voices singing together,” said Bloemfontein Children’s Choir conductor Werner Stander.
“Children love to sing, but sharing their talents with peers will be the highlight of the year for all the choirs. The children will discover that others feel the same joy in singing, and experiencing that together will be marvellous.
“The audience can expect a beautiful treble sound from the choirs, as most are SSA (double soprano and alto). Listeners will hear a clean, pure, and innocent treble sound,” Stander added.
Diverse musical programme
The Oranje Girls’ Choir will perform works such as Whisper by Greg Gilpin, an Afrikaans composition by Franco Prinsloo, a show tune from Wicked, and the African number Bombela.
The Bloemfontein Children’s Choir will present a varied set, including an experimental Filipino call-and-response piece, an Abba medley, and traditional African songs such as Sanbonani and the beloved Sotho piece Sikirileke Koloi.
The Cape Town Children’s Choir will bring contemporary favourites such as Somewhere Only We Know by Keane, The Arrow and the Song, and the spiritual Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.
One voice, one message
“We can’t wait to perform the mass piece Sisi Ni Moja, a choral work with a deeply unifying message. Sisi Ni Moja is Swahili for ‘we are one’,” Stander explained.
“The song reminds us that we all laugh, cry, feel hunger, and experience pain – yet we are one. It’s about joining hands, celebrating music, and recognising that alongside loss, there is also joy.”
