THE VOICES OF ANGELS

A pitch-perfect Cape Town children's choir has enjoyed astonishing success at an international choral competition

-  NASIFA SULAIMAN

YOU could hear a pin drop as the conductor raises her arms, the eyes of the children standing in a half-circle formation in front of her glued on her next command.

Then she moves her hands and the choir bursts into a perfectly harmonised rendition of Las Amarillas, the traditional Mexican song by Stephen Hatfield.

It’s enough to bring goose bumps to your flesh and a lump to your throat – a beautiful sound filling the room from a chorus of exceptional voices.

Listening to them rehearsing at Goodwood Park Primary School in Cape Town, it’s easy to see why the Tygerberg Children’s Choir (TCC) has been making waves lately.

The choir, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has just returned home from the UK where they won two major awards in the Hull International Choir Competition.

In total, 27 choirs from 10 countries competed and TCC – the only choir from Africa – walked away with the first-place trophy in the children’s choir section and took second place in the sacred choral music a capella category.

Conductor Karina Erasmus (63) says while she’s elated with the first-place win, coming second in the sacred choral category was a massive achievement as they were competing against adult choirs.

“It was a big surprise to come first, but coming second was almost a bigger achievement for us,” she tells YOU. “I’m incredibly proud of them.”

This was the first competition for many of the young choristers, who come from across the Western Cape.

Karina, who’s been the choir leader since 2019, says she’s happy they’re getting more recognition at home.