The Drakensberg Boy’s Choir

Frequent travelers and musically-inclined individuals are all most likely to have heard of The Drakensberg Boy’s Choir - a world class choir group from Cape Town, South Africa - that has made numerous performances in a large number of countries.

The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir features musically-gifted boys from the multi-faceted cultures of South Africa and is primarily known for its ability to render music in a unique style. This group of singers is usually clad in classic choir costumes and is internationally acclaimed for its unique African repertoire. Its most popular renditions include ‘Shosholoza’ and “Night Sounds’ which feature perfect imitations of the sounds of the African Bush. The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir also renders the ‘Gumboot Dance’ which originated on the South African Mines.

Choral performances of The Drakensberg Boy’s Choir feature singers in various choir apparel and authentic African instruments as well as body percussions that are used as musical accompaniments. The group provides excellent rendition of Handel’s “Messiah”, Mozart’s “Requiem”. Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and Bach’s “Magnificat” among others.

The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir is actually a product of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School, the only Choir School in Africa and one of the very few institutes across the world that offers musical/ educational combination system.

Students from this school go through rigid examinations prior to their acceptance to the world-class musical school. Once admitted, the boys are encouraged to engage not only in rigid musical practices but also on various sports such as rugby, cricket, tennis, swimming, athletics, cross-country and volleyball. The boys also get to enjoy activities such as rapids tubing, abseiling and berg hiking.

The most popular and most exciting part of being The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir member is perhaps the given opportunity to travel to other countries and represent South Africa. To date, the choir group has practically toured every continent and has in fact garnered citations for its excellent performances.

Among the countries it has toured include the United States, Canada and a large part of Europe including Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, England, Poland and Greece. The group was also invited to perform at the Vatican City before a crown of 25,000 people. It has also been to Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir also appeared and performed in complete choir costumes in Turkey, Finland, Australia, and Scandinavia.

Typical concerts of The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir usually kick off with Catholic music renditions. Around this time, choir members are usually dressed in their choir apparel which includes grey pants, white shirt and blue vest. The concert eventually progresses with pop songs and African songs that usually feature choir members in either traditional African attires or African style clothing.