July 26, 2016

On Saturday, July 23, 2016, the Medicine Hat College (MHC) Girls’ Choir competed and won first place in the youth choir category and the grand prize for the best overall choir at the eighth annual Ihlombe! South African Choral Festival in Pretoria, South Africa.

The prize includes a trophy, 5000 South Africa Rand (approximately 459.04 Canadian dollars) and the right to commission a newly composed work for the group. To achieve these results the college’s choristers sang four pieces, three of which were by Canadian composers and the fourth was a piece that they learned on a past tour to the Netherlands.

“We are so proud of what the Girls’ Choir and choir director, Bradley Van Middelkoop have accomplished. They’ve really proven to be strong ambassadors for not only the college but Medicine Hat, Alberta and Canada as a whole,” says Mahon. “We look forward to hearing about their tour when they return this weekend.”  

According to Middelkoop, since Saturday the Choir has performed in Soweto, Johannesburg and Cape Town and have three more concerts scheduled.

To follow the choirs’ South African tour visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.