Drakensberg Boys Choir School learner received his International Choir Status
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Congratulations to Rohan Naidoo for receiving his ‘International Choir Status’ from the Drakensberg Boys Choir.
‘International Choir Status’ is a programme designed for advanced music students at the Drakensberg Boys Choir. This title refers to the fact that graduates of this course will automatically be selected for any subsequent international tours at the Drakensberg Boys Choir while assisting and preparing boys who might seek acceptance into a Bachelor’s programme in Music, at an academy, conservatory, or university, or another institute around the world.
Students who are awarded ‘International Choir Status,’ will see their names engraved upon the ‘International Status’ Honours Board at Drakies, upon receiving ‘Honours in Music,’ at the school. To be one of the four students accepted into the programme, you would have needed to achieve ninety percent, or higher in an external, ‘Theory of Music’ examination, in addition to passing a lengthy audition.
Rohan Naidoo (conducting)
The audition is as follows:
- Sing a song, or play a piece on an instrument, of your own choice, in any musical style. (The performance will be assessed for its musicality and the student’s musicianship.)
- Play upon the piano, any combination of two vocal parts of An Irish Blessing- a hymn depicting a traditional Northern European blessing/ prayer.
- Play a chord, consisting of all four vocal parts within the hymn, at any given point within the piece.
- Identify mistakes within the hymn, by listening to the examiner playing it on the piano.
- Sing every vocal part, within a piece performed by the choir.
- Answer questions about the composer of such a piece, in addition to explaining the piece’s literal and figurative textual meaning.
- Identify any chord within the piece.
- Conduct through the piece, with instrumental accompaniment, while putting your artistic ideas into place, by leading a short rehearsal on a section of it.
- Grade 6 sight-singing and aural training tests.
Upon acceptance into the programme, you will be expected to fulfil a prolonged list of criteria, of which arranging a piece for choir, analysing musical works, conducting a piece during a concert, and several projects upon musical eras and choral works/ entities are included. Once the entirety of the criteria is met, the student/s assignments will be assessed for their accuracy, authenticity, and work ethic. Once the criteria have been evaluated, International Choir Status will subsequently be rewarded, at the annual ‘Academic Prizegiving,’ ensuring that every one of your Drakie needs and aspirations, from ‘Honours in Music,’ to touring overseas, is catered for.
