The mission of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School is to prepare boys for life and leadership through excellence in music, academics, sport and social enrichment in a Christian environment.

General Information

Set on a 100 acre estate in the Drakensberg, the facilities at the school have from inception been based on a “farm school” structure. The move from a small 80 seater hall to a 600 seater auditorium in 1995 with modern sound and lighting equipment, allowed the choir to surge ahead. Today, the Auditorium is filled to near capacity during the weekly Wednesday concerts and music festivals throughout the year.

In partnership with corporate supporters, a strategic plan to upgrade facilities is currently in place and through a phased approach will see the conversion of the current infrastructure into modern facilities compete with the best independent schools in the country.

Even with the proposed upgrading, the country atmosphere will never be lost.

The size of the school dictates small classes and an enviable teacher / pupil ratio, which allows teachers to work with – and understand – each pupil as an individual

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Music

The Choir is representative of the multi-faceted cultures that make up South Africa. It has created a new trend in the international choral scene that transcends the conventional. A unique style of diversity – Classical, Rock, Pop, Jazz, African, Folk etcetera – whatever the style, the boys perform it with excellence and aplomb.

The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir captivates audiences with its unique and diverse style of music, which demonstrates the versatility and depth of the Choir’s ability. This can be especially seen and heard with the recent addition of more modern art music. The Choir is internationally acclaimed for its unique African repertoire, containing various traditional works like ‘Shosholoza’, and ‘Night Sounds’ where the boys imitate the sounds of the African Bush. They also perform a ‘Gumboot Dance’, which originated on the South African mines. Using authentic African instruments and body percussion as accompaniment, the boys perform traditional African works as have never been experienced before!

The Choir also excels in music such as Handel’s “Messiah”, Mozart’s “Requiem”, Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms”, Bach’s “Magnificat”, and many more works of this stature.

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Academics

There are two clearly separate, yet closely related, aspects to the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School: the Academic and sporting component of the School; and the Choir.

It is this co-existence that provides the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School with its unique and dynamic character. It is the only Choir School in Africa, and one of the very few other such musical/educational combinations in the world.

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Tours

Touring is an exciting aspect of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir’s annual programme. Performances are held throughout the country, and the Choir frequently represents South Africa abroad, earning great respect both locally and internationally.

The Drakensberg Boys’ Choir has been to the United States four times, (with the Freedom of Jacksonville, Spartanburg and a special award from Disney’s Magic Kingdom being conferred on them) and to Canada. During its second visit, four soloists took the top honours at an International Singing Competition in Des Moines. In Europe, it has sung in Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Portugal, Germany, England, Greece, Poland and, by Papal request, at the Vatican City before 25 000 people. During the Choir’s 25th anniversary year in 1992, it was acclaimed one of the best in the triennial World Boy’s Choir Festival in Poznan, Poland. Since South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir has toured much of Africa, singing in Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Swaziland, Mozambique and Namibia. The Choir has also undertaken tours to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Japan, Turkey, Finland, Australia and Scandinavia.

At the invitation of the Min On Cultural Organisation, Japan was visited in 1997, 2001 and again in 2002. On each of these tours the Choir sang to full houses, with audiences of approximately 50 000 during each visit.

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Sport & Activities

A healthy body is home to a healthy mind, and so sport plays an important role in the lives of the boys at the school. Each boy is encouraged to participate in some form of exercise and sports are offered on three afternoons a week. Boys participate in rugby, cricket, tennis, swimming, athletics, cross-country and volleyball. Sports matches are played against neighbouring schools.

Activities unique to the Drakensberg Boys' Choir school are rapids tubing, abseiling and berg hiking. Clubs are offered on a voluntary basis and vary from year to year, depending on the interest of the boys and the talents of the staff. The boys in the training choir attend a Berg School during the first national tour of the year when the others are away. They not only learn about their immediate surroundings, but also how to survive off the land. Special attention is paid to leadership, discipline and social development.

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Hostel Life

The boys are allocated to dormitories according to standards
& are  encouraged to make their dormitories their "homes"

All the boys at the school are residential students, which mean that they stay on the school estate in dormitories. The dormitories are divided into different sections for the different age groups. Each dormitory is equipped with a television set. All meals are prepared on site and served in the dining hall.

The fact that the boys are boarders at the Drakensberg Boys’Choir School gives the school a unique character and atmosphere. The camaraderie built up between the boys who live and play together endures into life-long friendships.

There is a school tuck shop available to the boys and we exercise control over the nature and quantity of a boy’s purchases.

Our Hostel Father and Mother fulfil an important role in the hostel, providing a guiding hand, a listening ear, and act as sympathetic counsellors.

The Hostel Mother also attends to all the boys’ ailments as well as supervising the laundering of the boys’ clothing and the cleanliness of the dormitories.

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