Our Journey to Cape Town, South Africa Starts from All Saints/Ashmont in Dorchester.
Follow the Boston City
Singers Tour Chorus as we tour Cape Town, South Africa this July-August - 2011!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The chorus visited an orphanage called the Leliebloem House. The children were loving and caring with these kids, playing with them and hugging them.
Please stay tuned to YouTube and our website for new posting from South Africa!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
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| A photo of one of our primary school visits |
The last big concert for Boston City Singers was today and was wonderful! Chaperones and singers assembled at St. John’s the Evangelist in Crawford, had supper and our last concert. The University of the Western Cape Chamber Choir again joined us again, which was our great pleasure! It was a joyful and very well received concert, and “Walk in Jerusalem” was a highlight, which the UWC singers want to add to their own repertoire.
Friday, August 12, 2011
We have had a successful and hard-working day: three hours this morning in a recording studio (and three hours yesterday afternoon, too).
Tonight the 34 remaining singers sang at Temple Israel in Green Point. Four of our singers and a chaperone have departed for home.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
We spent three hours at the botanical gardens where we were given a fun tour and had a picnic lunch.
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| An almond tree-but not the kind you ear |
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| A yellow version of bird-of-paradise called Madela's Gold |
The singers spent the rest of the day in a recording studio working on a CD.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Today we drove to the SANCOB Bird Rehabilitation where we were entertained by Weston with an adorable, dancing rock hopper penguin, which had a stellar “Michael Jackson” hairdo. We also learned all new cool interesting facts about all kinds of birds like the cormorant, and the cape gannet, and of course the cute adorable penguins. After petting the penguin, we got a view of the home for all the birds and learned a few of the stories of how they got there to the rehabilitation center. We also sang the staff a quick version of “Tocholosa.” After a quick stop for lunch we were off to our last primary school visit. We shared our music and songs and we got to mingle. It was so much fun to learn about their culture and then comparing them, A few of the children got to talk about the differences of sports between South Africa and the U.S .
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
National Women’s Day
“When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” I heard this expression on South Africa’s national holiday, Women’s Day. On August 9, 1956, about 20,000 women marched to the Union buildings in Pretoria to protest against proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act of 1950. This act was meant to “tighten up control of movement of African women to town, registration of their service contracts, and a compulsory medical examination for all African women town-dwellers,” (Walker; 1982: p.129) Now August 9th is a national holiday to celebrate and recognize the triumphs and struggles of women, past and present.
Today we performed at St. George’s Cathedral. We got an indication that this would be a special day when the three women who work at the retreat center asked to join us on the bus to attend the service at the big cathedral. Thanks to our wonderful guides who laid the groundwork of our tour, we had a prominent role at the service. We sang three pieces of music to a packed cathedral of approximately 2,000 people including the Archbishop of Cape Town – the Most Reverend Dr. Thabo Makgoba. Also in attendance were two other South African bishops from the region and, the Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia.
We had an unexpected and extraordinary visit today with Archbishop Makgoba at his residence called ‘Bishop’s Court’. What was unexpected for me was the meaningful and sincere connections His Grace made with the singers. Particularly when he learned that we had 5 or so singers whose families were from Haiti. He told us a deep personal story of when he visited Haiti after the earthquake. He told how the despair and destruction that he witnessed was so difficult for him personally that he believes his life was changed profoundly as a result. He works very hard today with earthquake relieve efforts and told us of an upcoming fundraiser he’s planning this September. When a few other singers gathered around to hear his story, he asked us all to please look at his pictures. There we were about 12 singers gathered around his personal PC and he showed us pictures of his time in Haiti. What was supposed to be a quick 30-minute audience turned into a 90+ minute visit. The singers couldn’t seem to stop talking to the Archbishop and I believe the feeling was mutual.
A message from one of the singers . . .
Truth and Reconciliation
The majority of our stay in Cape Town has been spent at St. Raphael’s (pronounced as “St. Raffle’s”) retreat center right outside of the city. Many of us have spent a lot of time roaming around St. Raphael’s grounds, which are beautiful and wild. At one of our evening meetings we learned that St. Raphael’s has an auspicious history: it was the site of the first meetings of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. The committee was created by Archbishop Desmond Tutu after the end of apartheid to document the atrocities of that era. Archbishop Tutu wanted to create an environment in which the truth about apartheid could be openly documented without fear of retribution for whatever crimes occurred. It was a monumental idea in that it showed that the only way for people to move forward from those horrible experiences was through truthfulness and forgiveness.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Peninsula Tour
The pictures from the game reserve were astonishing, but those from today’s peninsula tour were so phenomenal. The scenery of the southern coast of South Africa may end up being the most beautiful I will ever see.
We started out going through the city of Cape Town surrounded by amazing mountains including Table Mountain – the flat-topped mountain that forms a prominent landmark overlooking the city. We made a few stops for pictures and a picnic lunch as we made our way all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope. This area is best known for its picturesque shoreline and its long, wide, sandy beach.
We passed the mountain range called the “Twelve Apostles” because of its many peaks. We stopped at Hout Bay at a great craft market. We came back up the False Bay coast, through Simonstown and back to the St. Rafael’s. The ride back got very exciting when the bus had to stop for a large family of baboons! There were at least a dozen on both sides of the road. A couple of smaller (younger?) baboons were wrestling and playing right in the middle of the road. On the left we had several climbing up the rocks – which were extremely close to the bus (the road is so narrow that two buses cannot pass each other.
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| Baboons on the side of the road |
Hiking up Cape Point
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| It's Colder than it looks! |
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The weather again is just beautiful. 70’s, sunny and lovely.
Again we are lucky to be singing with the UWC chamber choir – now close friends after so many performances and rehearsals together. Everyone is exchanging Facebook addresses – it’s pretty cool. Mr. Peter Roux, the UWC choir director, is wonderful to work with. He uses humor to keep the kids inspired and paying attention, and he’s very energetic.
The concert today was the best yet! The church was packed to capacity. 600 people or more! The applause was thunderous! At one point Mr. Roux told the crowd that the last song would be the national anthem which caused one enthusiastic audience member to jump up and shout, “young American voices singing our anthem is brilliant!”
Saturday, August 6, 2011
We're back at the university getting ready for our joint concert with three different choirs to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day. We've seen these university chorus students a number of times now and the two choruses greet each other with hugs and familiarity; the shyness all but evaporated. My personal favorite is watching the kids gather around the grand piano to spontaneously sing pop songs - obviously delighting in each other's company. Another thrill that I can't seem to get over is seeing posters plastered all around with the Boston City Singers chorus picture announcing our concerts in the various areas.
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| Noon concert by the UWC Student Center |
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| Learning new dance to Shosoloza |
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| Rehearsal with UWC students |
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Today we had our township tour. “Langa”, is not the biggest township in Cape Town but it is the oldest. We learned that it was built as housing for 5,000 single working men in 1927 but today has expanded to a population of over 80,000 men, women and children. Langa is one of the many areas in South Africa that were designated for Black Africans before the apartheid era. This township was also the location of much resistance to apartheid.
We started with a brief walk through one of the streets where many folks in the Xhosa language greeted us. (Thanks to our local Mambuti for teaching us some important greetings. Xhosa is a clicking language and the children picked it up much easier than the adults.
Our first stop was to a pottery cooperative. Anyone over the age 16 could be eligible to learn the craft. There is guidance and sometimes funding for graduates to begin their own business. It’s a perfect example of how a micro-enterprise can employ many and sustain whole families and communities.
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| Langa Pottery Co-op |
"Imagine trying to keep up with a day like today.
It’s just that each stop, each site, each new school or choral group
gives us so much love, so much energy and music and dance,
that it almost chokes me up with the awe of it all."
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| Selling Meat |
Moving right along, our next stop was for an interactive African musical instrument workshop. This was a time for the kids to really let their hair down. Drumming, flutes, dances, and a finish of homemade ginger ‘beer’ (no alcohol, no worries.) The three performers were so talented and obviously used to getting kids to move and participate. The energy and excitement was high and I wish I could get you all to come here and spend time with these musicians!
Next stop, Dalukhanyo Pre-School. I know I’ve written about how the school children seem to gather around our kids like rock stars. At the pre-school level though, it’s altogether a different thing. The children hug us from all sides. Pulling on our arms, hanging around our legs, asking to be carried or hugged. I had one little boy kissing my hand so beautifully. I look around and see your children laughing out loud as they are being loved to death. Imagine our Denis or Auston both 6’ tall, bending down to hug dozens of 2-5 year olds. The pre-schoolers sang and danced for us. I wish we didn’t have to leave….but of course…..
Next stop Hlengisa Primary School. The chorus from this school was very disciplined. They sounded beautiful. They formed a semi-circle with our kids (about 120 kids total) with both choruses intertwined. Then one chorus would sing and dance and the other would follow along. We took turns back and forth and really enjoyed the exchange. But no time to dally….
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| Welcome dance at Phakama Secondary School |
After a quick sandwich lunch under a tree we went to Phakama Secondary School. This High School choir was waiting for us by forming two lines at the school’s entrance. When we got off the bus, they started to sing and dance. Unbelievable voices; an extremely accomplished chorus. They took Isabel’s hand and led her to dance and then others invited our students to stand by them and soon the two choruses were again interacting and dancing together. We entered the school and received the most impressive concert! We shared some of our songs too and then the two choruses interacted in the way all high school kids interact apparently across the world. Email addresses were exchanged and friendships were formed. We were all so happy to be sharing our music with such a talented group of students.”
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| Making friends! |
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