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World Renowned South African Boys' Choir Comes to Putnam Valley Schools
The celebrated Drakensberg Boys' Choir from South Africa is heading to Putnam Valley on Thursday, March 29th.
The choir will perform assemblies for students in both the Putnam Valley High School (PVHS) and the Putnam Valley Middle School (PVMS).
PVHS Choral Director Gerard Micera first learned about the choir through the American Choral Directors Association (ACDAwww. acdaonline.org/ )whose annual conference he attends each year. When Mr. Micera learned there was an opportunity to host the choir in Putnam Valley, he contacted the Putnam Valley Music Association (PVMA) president, Beth Schmidt. Beth, along with Putnam Valley High School theater manager Susi Cummings, made arrangements to host the choir and their members at the Clear Lake Boy Scout Camp. This opportunity was made possible through the courtesy of Steve Hammonds and the Westchester Putnam Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The honored guests will get a wonderful sense of Putnam Valley on this beautiful 1400 acre property nestled above Oscawana Lake.
A little history: in 1967, the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School (DBCS) opened its doors to its first 20 pupils. The boys had been carefully selected from numerous auditions held across the country. Within a relatively short time, by 1970, the enrolment had increased to just over 100 boys, and has averaged this number ever since. The school is situated in the Champagne Valley of the Central Drakensberg mountains. In 1995, the move from a small 80-seat concert hall to a modern 600-seat auditorium, allowed the Choir to surge further ahead. Today, the auditorium is filled to near capacity during their weekly concerts.
There are two clearly separate, but at the same time, closely related, aspects of the DBCS. On the one hand is the academic and sporting component, and on the other hand is the Choir. It is this co-existence that provides the DBCS with its unique and dynamic character. It is the only Choir School in Africa and one of a very few other such musical/ educational combinations in the world.
The Drakensberg Boys' Choir is representative of the multi-faceted cultures that make up South Africa, being one of the first multicultural choirs in the country since the late 1980s. This has created a new trend in the international choral scene that transcends the conventional. A unique style of diversity evolved and whatever the style- classical, rock, pop, jazz, African, folk, etc.- the boys perform it with excellence.
The Choir has toured more than 20 countries over the past 4 decades. On request from the late Pope John Paul II, the Choir performed at the Vatican City before 25,000 people. In April 2005 the Choir sang on stage with Luciano Pavarotti at the early stage in South Africa of his last world tour.
At press time, Gerard Micera is in attendance at the ACDA convention in Miami. For Mr. Micera, a rare bonus accompanies his presence at the convention this year- one his students (Jackson Gilman-Forlini, a junior at PVHS) was one of only nine students selected from all of New York State to participate in the Multicultural Honor Choir.
In addition to the honor choir performance scheduled for Saturday, March 10th, Mr. Micera has already seen the Drakensberg Boys Choir perform. Live from the convention he reported, "Putnam Valley will no doubt be dumbfounded at just how extraordinary it is to see this group perform. These boys, in addition to their obvious talent and spirit, are remarkably well-trained and will bring a first-of-its-kind cultural experience to our schools from which our students and community members will only benefit."
The performances at the ACDA congress will be followed by a three-week tour to the Eastern United States, which is what brings them to Putnam Valley. For more information on the Choir, please visit: http://www.dbchoir.info/
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