Young German musicians join choir and orchestra performance in Cape Town
Members of the orchestra and choir of the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS) visited Cape Town earlier in March as guests of the Deutsche Schule Kapstadt for the biennual music festival of four German schools in southern Africa.
This was the first time that the choirs from the various schools participated in the festival.
From the DHPS, some 30 learners, players and singers, joined the learners of the other three schools for an instrument and vocal concert under the baton of the conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Chad Hendricks.
The final concert, titled “ Out of this World” on Friday 15 March, was the highlight of the music sojourn. Needless to say, the concert was sold out and the audience of some 600 music lovers appreciated the offering of classics from Handel and Orff, as well as some popular melodies from movies and contemporary singers.
Wonderful as the music exposure was, the DHPS learners also enjoyed the opportunity to see some of Cape Town’s amazing features, and to meet some of their compatriots from the German schools in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
“It was wonderful to see learners from the four German schools in southern Africa coming together to make music and deliver an outstanding concert. They had a lot of fun and made new friends during these few days,” remarked Annika Paulus, music teacher and orchestra director at DHPS.
Head of Music at DHPS, Martina Visser said “We have so much talent among the young choir singers and musicians; it was truly impressive. The exchange with music teachers from other German schools abroad was also unique and important. We returned from Cape Town not only with wonderful musical memories but also with many new ideas and inspirations.”
