The famous Drakensberg Boys Choir don gumboots

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The Drakensberg Boys Choir will take part in the Market Theatre's 30th birthday celebrations

Drakensberg Choir to sing Market's praises In a double birthday first, the Drakensberg Boys' Choir will perform a unique mixture of classical and traditional music at the Market Theatre on 16 and 17 June. June 8, 2006 By Ndaba Dlamini THE latest drawcard in the Market Theatre's grand 30th birthday celebrations is the world-famous Drakensberg Boys' Choir which will also commemorate Wolfgang Mozart's 250th birthday. The choir, which comprises the best nine- to 15-year-old male talent in the country, will perform a mix of the Austrian composer's letters and highlights from his operas, choral and church music. Entitled Amadeus Superstar the show will star Peter Spring as Mozart. The choir will also present their energetic African Kaleidoscope segment, in which they don gumboots and "Madiba" shirts to present their repertoire of traditional works like Shosholoza. A highlight will be Night Sounds, a musical imitation of the sounds of the African bush. Hailing from the small town of Winterton, in the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School was founded by John Tungay. Using the fusion of the country's cultures to its advantage, the choir performs a unique diversity of musical styles from Bach and Beethoven, to African music and jazz. The choir has toured the US, Canada, Japan and almost the entire continents of Africa and Europe. During their second visit to the US, four soloists from the choir took top honours at an international singing competition in Des Moines. According to the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School's website , the mission of the school is to prepare boys for life and leadership through excellence in music, academics, sport and social enrichment in a Christian environment. The school has produced renowned singers like Zwai Bala, the first black member of the Drakensberg Boys' Choir, who will also be taking part in the theatre's birthday celebrations. The Drakensberg Boys' Choir will perform at the Market Theatre's Main Stage on 16 and 17 June at 8pm. Tickets cost R100 and are available from computicket. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za