Projects 2009/10
Africa Project
Meet some voices of Africa
Free African Singing Project for Secondary Schools
Wren Music is bringing to Devon a choir of about 12 teenagers, who sing a range of songs from the Cape Malay tradition, African freedom songs and African traditional songs.
The group are ComArts Choir from Elsies River, City of Capetown, South Africa and they would like to give Devon pupils a greater insight into singing in the African culture and how ComArts uses music as a tool for community development.
Not only is this a way to help students see that singing is more than getting your name in the bright lights but also ComArts Choir are opening a window on a particularly unusual and colourful aspect to Cape Town which is renowned for its unique multicultural mix.
They, in turn, are seeing the music that happens in Devon schools.
As part of their schedule the group are offering a 1 hour performance workshop in the following host schools on
| 30th June Monday | Knowles Hill |
| 3rd July Thursday | late morning Sidmouth Community College |
| 4th July Friday | Coombeshead |
If you would like to send students/pupils to take part please contact
If you cannot attend any of these then see the choir at the Devon Schools Mix 25th June 2008 at Westpoint Exeter www.devon.gov.uk/dms-mix.htm
More details:
ComArts Choir from Elsies River, City of Capetown, South Africa
ComArts is a community organisation working with arts, culture and heritage as drivers in social and economic development.
Their work centres on enabling young people through participation and development of workshop skills.
The 12-person choir are late teens / early 20s, some studying music at University, some studying heritage.
There repertoire includes Moppies - songs from Cape Malay choral tradition - as well as African songs from Xhosa and other traditions
When the mines closed in Devon in late Victorian times, many miners travelled to South Africa and beyond to seek work, taking their songs and dances with them.
Wren has been exploring these cultural links for many years, sharing Devon songs and music and bringing songs and music from other cultures back to Devon.
It was during a three-week tour of South Africa in 2005 with an Exeter-based teen vocal ensemble “Hocus” that Wren first worked with ComArts.
Some background about the Cape Malay culture and the choral tradition:
