The pupils of Kenmere Primary School in Kensington will bid farewell to their music teacher Lizl Gaffley at the end of this year after 26 years.
Gaffley will leave a legacy of being the most successful choir teacher at the school, and in the Kensington community at large.
This year, the choir mistress also became one of the judges of the reality show Sing in Harmonie, the popular KykNET choir competition produced by Antonie Bogus.
After years of teaching thousands of pupils the artistry and discipline of choir singing, this was the first time Gaffley did something to enhance her own profile and deservedly so. She can now be seen every Sunday on DStv as the only judge of colour on the panel.
Gaffley insists Bogus did not select her to be judge because she is coloured, but rather because of her ability, knowledge and the significant impact her own choir, Kenmere, has made on the show.
Her leaving is a sad day for the community of Kensington, and especially for talented kids whose parents have enrolled them at Kenmere because of their excellent choir.
I have much experience with this choir as they have been featured on my shows a
number of times.
I also admired their performance in the Baxter Theatre production Scrooge, which starred Christo Davids and Marc Lottering.
They are disciplined to the point where they could mix with the professionals and this is largely due to the passion and guidance of Gaffley.
In many cases this discipline must have
filtered through at home and this was important to parents who have stood behind Gaffley over the years.
She has been a role model to many young women and thoroughly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as other great women of the arts in Cape Town, such as Marlene le Roux to name but one.
RENOWNED: Kenmere Primary choir has made a fine name for itself in the community
Gaffley is looking forward to her retirement but assures me that her work in the arts is far from done.
Mense can look forward to greater things from her and she will still be focusing on her community because this is her first priority, she says.
For starters, come 2019, she will launch the Lizl Gaffley Choral Academy.
She says it’s always been a dream to have her own music school and now the time has finally arrived to take that step.
The academy’s slogan is, “where every voice is heard”, and it will have three choirs, which are the beginners, the intermediate and the core competition choir.
The beginners choir is for singers aged 7-10 and this is where kids will learn the fundamentals of healthy vocal techniques, and start developing a repertoire in diverse styles including folk, gospel, classic and popular songs.
The intermediate choir is for children aged 9-14 and here students will be encouraged to become aware of the musical choices they make and to set goals for their vocal development.
They would also meet with a voice specialist as they work towards these goals.
There is no audition required to join the beginners and intermediate ensembles, says Gaffley.
The core choir is ready for more rigorous training and will feed the concert choir.
Gaffley says over the past 26 years she has been blessed to touch the lives of many children and their families and she will miss teaching dearly.
But she believes she can reach even more people with the academy in a more meaningful way.
“The idea with this academy is to take children oversees, something that we never had when we were children and this is my time to do something that makes me happy,” she says.
“Someone once asked me how important is it to be rich and I replied that yes, I do want to be able to live comfortably but I want to be happy, and I am happy when I have music and that is why I do what I do.”
“In my career I have had many highs and I want people to realise that there are many opportunities in music.
“It’s not something that you just do as a hobby but you can actually make it your life.”
If you wish to enrol your child at the Lizl Gaffley Choral Academy, please call or Whatsapp 071 250 8835.
You can also email [email protected]
I wish you all the best, Ms Gaffley, and may your academy become the next great venture in an already grand legacy.