WATCH | Drakensberg Boys back from UK tour to raise scholarship funds

It is not everyone who gets to live their dream: some from impoverished backgrounds end up doing whatever is within reach to survive. But the Drakensberg Boys' Choir school wants to change this for some musically talented children whose parents cannot afford the fees.

The choir came back on Tuesday from England where they were touring to raise funds for the school’s scholarship programme. The fees are R220,000 a year. 

Executive headmaster Hendrik Bekker, speaking to TimesLIVE at OR Tambo airport, said the school embarked on the fundraiser so more musically talented children could live their dreams.

“There are so many talented children from underprivileged backgrounds. We see them at auditions where they often qualify — but when they hear the fees are R220,000, they withdraw. It would be lovely to have a bigger scholarship fund so that we can give more children an opportunity to explore their skills,” Bekker said.

The school has three boys on full scholarship and nine on partial scholarship. Bekker said they were aiming for about 25 in the next academic year. 

“If I look at the boys who are on the bursary programme, I can see they live for the music and performing. It makes them so happy, takes them out of their circumstances, and gives them hope for a better life.” 

TimesLIVE has over the years reported on parents who resorted to public crowd-funding platforms to ask for donations to keep their children at the school. 

The school teaches grade 4-9 boys. Bekker said scholarship boys don't struggle to get high school funding after their stint at the school. 

“Our boys are really sought-after by schools; when they get to grade 9, the big independent schools in the country offer them scholarships. They have the skills to get scholarships. It opens a door that otherwise would have been closed.”

The school has 54 boys but “our target for next year is 80-90 boys, underprivileged or not. We have room for 20-25 boys we will be able to fund through scholarship.” 

One of the 41 pupils who went on the UK tour, Zipho Dzibe, described music as his “calling”. 

“The choir came to perform at my previous school, and I felt that there was a calling for me to start the Drakies journey.”

He said his parents joked that his love for music came about because they took him to jazz concerts when his mom was pregnant with him. “Music is embedded in me,” he says. “I thoroughly enjoyed the trip; it was educational for me because it was my first time. We learnt a lot and it was an enriching experience that I will never forget.” 

Another pupil, Samuel Wang, said his time at the school helped him develop his voice.

“I am having a lot of fun at Drakies, it has helped a lot in developing my voice and getting me used to performing. The trip went extremely well, it was a lot of fun but it was demanding.

“It was nice but I kind of missed the South African audiences because they have a lot more vibe — but I do like performing in other countries because you get to see the different theatres. I get to travel the world and we give people joy,” Wang said.

In London the choir performed with South African operatic tenor star and Britain's Got Talent sensation Innocent Masuku. 

The choir's artistic director Vaughan van Zyl said: “The education goes far beyond the music, it prepares the boys for life.

“It is important to have the scholarship because every single child has so much potential, it does not matter the background. The circumstances do not take away children's potential and to give a child an opportunity to explore that in the education system is important to prepare them for life.” 

He said the school would continue its fundraising events to boost the scholarship programme.

TimesLIVE