The choir was commended for their beautiful harmonising at the competition, called Sing in Harmonie, which took place on Saturday.
The well-known choir is now 25 years old, and it’s headed by the most gifted and
passionate choirmaster I’ve ever known, Miss Lizl Gaffley.
The journey to winning this prestigious award started in 2015 when Miss Gaffley entered her choir into the kykNET Sing in Harmonie competition and they ended up being the winners.
In July the choir, who Miss Gaffley says was almost a completely new one because most of her senior members had graduated to high school, won the national competition again.
PASSION: Choirmaster Miss Gaffley collecting kykNET's Sing in Harmonie trophy
With this, the kids proved that it does not matter which year you are in at Kenmere Primary, the quality stays the same, largely thanks to Miss Gaffley’s expertise and dedication.
According to the kykNET panel, this phenomenal woman and musical genius, with her genuine love for children and her choir, is now rated as the best primary school conductor and choir master in the country.
After the choir’s performance live on kykNET, judge Johan said of their performance: “Afgerond, gedisiplineerd, suiwer harmonie, afgeronde uitspraak, goeie intonasie, diksie; Juffrou, jy mag afrig. Dit was asemrowend!”
The school won prizes to the value of R60 000, which includes a Bennie Dekker piano and a 20-track album recording.
When the students were asked about their big win, 12-year-old Ridhaa Dawood quipped that they have never been to the hotel in Pretoria without winning, so the choir makes them feel like winners.
Neve Arends, 13, said: “I trust Miss Gaffley because she is more than just a choir conductor to us, so whatever she brings for us to sing, we just sing it.”
When Lauan Berends, 12, was asked on live television if he could believe how well they performed, he answered: “I am not surprised because we worked really hard for this and we did what we practised really hard for.”
Okuhle Mbunge, 13, added: “We were really happy and it was worth all the sacrifices we made throughout the year.”
Aquila Palmer, who is only nine years old, said that she knew the morning after their rehearsal that they were going to win “if we did it just as we rehearsed”.
When one stands in the hall with the choir buzzing on stage, you can feel the championship energy which Kenmere
possesses.
This win has done wonders for the community of Kensington and parents have an even bigger sense of pride in the school, their children and the choir.
Principal Johannesen, who travelled with the choir on the bus, said that for him, being a huge sports fan, this was a wonderful experience.
He says it’s not only that the choir won, but it’s the humble manner in which they accepted their prize that makes him proud.
There was an especially emotional moment when one of the kids who went to receive the award broke down crying.
He says he, as well as the parents who went all the way to Pretoria to show their support, also shed a few tears.
The choir returned home to a heroes’ welcome on Monday, as fellow pupils formed a guard of honour for them to walk through, and the whole school excitedly cheered, “wie maak it lekker, die koor maak it lekker!”
For Miss Gaffley, this was her proudest moment yet.
“The structures and communication between the children, teachers and the support of the parents is what makes us successful, that and all the hours of practice we put in,” she says.
This school, it’s principal Miss Gaffley and the choir are my heroes this week.
You have shown that our community has the ability to be great.