Stellenbosch choir on a roll

The Stellenbosch University choir has ensured that South Africa are world champions.

The choir participated in the World Choir Games in Latvia this month and took top honours in three categories. In the spiritual music category they were awarded a score of 98,38% — the highest score ever awarded at the games. They repeated their record winning streak when they scored 99% for the mixed choirs category. The third category — Musica Sacra — saw them walk away with 95,63%.

Choir conductor André van der Merwe said he dedicated their performances to the highly respected Professor Russel Botman — rector and vice- chancellor of the university — who died on June 28. The choir sang at his funeral before leaving for the competition which is regarded as the Olympics of choral music.

“I told the choir members to forget about the competition and concentrate on sharing the music. That must be the focus,” said Van der Merwe.

According to the World Choir Games 2014 website, the results of the first part of the competition was announced over the weekend. It noted that 14 new champions were crowned — five of which are from South Africa.