The Stellenbosch University Choir ( af, Stellenbosch Universiteitskoor) is a Choir affiliated with

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. Founded in 1936, it is the oldest choir in South Africa. The choir is viewed as a leading South African choral ensemble and has toured overseas extensively where it has won critical acclaim for its performances. The current conductor, André van der Merwe, was appointed at the beginning of 2003.

History

The choir was founded in 1936 by William Morris and has established itself as one of the best choirs in South Africa and the world.

Conductors

The current conductor of the choir is André van der Merwe (since 2003). Previous conductors include William Morris (1936-1939), who founded the choir in 1936, Gawie Cillie (1939-1955), Prof. Philip McLachlan (1956-1975), Prof. Johan de Villiers (1976-1984), Acama Fick (1985-1992), the first woman to conduct the choir, and Sonja van der Walt (1993-2002).

Notable Achievements

Interkultur World Rankings

As of 2020, the Stellenbosch University Choir is rated as the top amateur choir in the world by the Interkultur Foundation world ranking system, with a maximum possible score of 1272 points, a position the choir has held since October 2012 The choir is also placed in the top 10 rankings for various categories, namely, first in the Mixed Choirs category (1272 points), first in the Sacred Music & Music of the Religions category (1233 points), and first in the Pop, Jazz, Gospel, Spiritual & Barber Shop category (1234 points).

World Choir Games

The choir first attended the Interkultur World Choir Games in 2004, at the 3rd World Choir Games held in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Because of their conductor, André van der Merwe, being appointed as the chairperson of the National Artistic Committee for the 2018 World Choir Games held in

Tshwane The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, the choir did not participate in the competition. The choir did however perform as a demonstration- and show choir during the event. * World Choir Games record

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod

The choir's first attendance of the

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around ...

, in

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

was in 2018 where they won all three categories they competed in. The choir was also invited to perform in the coveted International Celebration Concert at the event.

Other

At the 9th World Choir Games in 2016, the choir was awarded the Hänssler-INTERKULTUR CD Award, as the best choir at the event. The award includes an album deal with the

Hänssler Classic Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by Friedrich Hänssler Senior (died 1972) to publish church music. The company is now based in Holzgerlingen. Since 1972 Hänssler Verlag has also publish ...

record label.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1936

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

University choirs South African choirs 1936 establishments in South Africa