The DUT Midlands Campus Choir is savouring the sweet taste of victory after walking away with eight trophies at the recent South African Tertiary Institutions Choral Association (SATICA) 2012 Choral Competition in Cape Town. A total of 22 choirs participated in the competition which was held last month.

“This is really a great achievement for the choir. All choristers were quiet excited about this achievement. We achieved good results after much hard work,” said Sibongile Bulose, Secretary: DUT Midlands Campus Student Services and Development who is also part of the DUT Midlands Choir.

This is not the first time that the choir performed well in the SATICA competition. Last year, the choir took home six trophies. In 2008, it was the overall winner of SATICA. In the latest competition, SATICA competition, the choir won number one spot in the categories: Best Conductor and Best Traditional Song. It won second place in the categories: Western Piece, African Piece, Own Choice Piece, Duet and Overall Performance while it got third place in the category: Male Voice.

Bulose said the competition was tough and all participating universities worked hard were planning to win. “Tough as it was, we still managed to get eight trophies out of the twelve categories we competed in,” she said.

The choir is made of 61 members including the conductor. Bulose said preparing for the competition was not easy because of a limited budget. “This budget is used for affiliation fees, transport, accommodation as well as for uniforms for different categories that we participate in. For instance, because of Cape Town’s bad (winter) weather, the choir needed warm uniforms like jackets or track-suits and finding sponsors is hard. It also takes discipline to be a member of a choir. For example, the choir met for rehearsals very Friday from the beginning of the year and went into a (rehearsal) camp with a very tight schedule on the week preceding the SATICA competition,” she said.

However, despite these challenges, Bulose said the eight trophies are a sign of growth and solidarity for the choir which has set its sights on entering and winning even more competitions.

Looking to the future, Bulose said the choir plans to enter in the Department of Arts and Culture choir competition in March 2013 as well as in the National Choir Festival in September 2013.

On Sunday next week (12 August 2012), the choir will perform at a concert to be held at the Fred Crooks Sport Centre at the DUT Steve Biko Campus. The choir was invited by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra. The DUT Midlands Choir will share the stage with choirs from other universities.

–Sinegugu Ndlovu
Caption: The DUT Midlands Choir in action.