Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Video: Competition performance at WGC - Scenic Folklore
The Kearsney Choir achieved 87.5%, which earned them a gold medal.
Monday, 14 July 2014
Champions Concert from 13 July on Latvian tv archive
The World Choir Games Champions' Concert took place yesterday evening. Footage of the concert is available on this link. The concert is an hour and a half and the Kearsney Choir is up near the end.
Remember next Tuesday evening , 22 July, the Choir will perform their Scenic Pop set during the SYNERGY! Concert at Kearsney. Synergy is a respected show choir (in the style of GLEE) from the USA. Booking is through Computicket.
Remember next Tuesday evening , 22 July, the Choir will perform their Scenic Pop set during the SYNERGY! Concert at Kearsney. Synergy is a respected show choir (in the style of GLEE) from the USA. Booking is through Computicket.
Blog Entry: 14 July Riga, Latvia
We left the hotel at 06:00 am this morning to go to the airport for our 09:00 am flight to Amsterdam. The boys are still busy checking in, while others are waiting at the boarding gate. All our boys are really tired at this stage - most of them are just quietly sitting, playing on their phones or having a catnap on the chairs outside the boarding gate. There is a general subdued atmosphere in the air. This tour has been exhausting and they are all ready to go home for a few days of well-deserved rest. Unfortunately it is still quite a while before that will happen.
We have a two hour flight to Amsterdam now, and then another seven hour flight to Dubai. We land in Dubai tonight at 24:00 and then we have a ten hour stop-over there. Luckily Emirates have arranged for us to check into a hotel at the airport to shower and get a few hours of sleep before we board our final homeward bound flight to Durban tomorrow at 10:25. We will arrive at Ushaka International Airport tomorrow 15 July at 16:45.
This is the final blog of our 2014 tour. It has been an awesome experience for everyone and the boys have all made wonderful memories, but we are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds again! See you in Durban!
We have a two hour flight to Amsterdam now, and then another seven hour flight to Dubai. We land in Dubai tonight at 24:00 and then we have a ten hour stop-over there. Luckily Emirates have arranged for us to check into a hotel at the airport to shower and get a few hours of sleep before we board our final homeward bound flight to Durban tomorrow at 10:25. We will arrive at Ushaka International Airport tomorrow 15 July at 16:45.
This is the final blog of our 2014 tour. It has been an awesome experience for everyone and the boys have all made wonderful memories, but we are all looking forward to sleeping in our own beds again! See you in Durban!
Blog Entry: 13 July
I am writing a quick update here from Riga as the boys are performing at the Champions Concert now at 16:00, and then we have to dash off to the Closing Concert at 19:00 which is quite a drive away from the city centre.
The boys had an early start today - they had to have breakfast between 06:30 and 07:30 am. We left the hotel at 07:45 to go to Arena Riga for the second Awards ceremony which started at 09:00 am. The boys' spirits were still a bit low after yesterday evening's Folklore results, but they were getting more and more excited for the announcement of the Scenic Pop results.
The Arena Riga was once again packed with choirs from all over the world and their was an electric vibe of anticipation in the air. The Scenic Pop category was announced near the end of the ceremony. As hoped, our name was not read out until the instrumental fanfare sounded which indicated that the name of the next announcement is the champion of the category. Our boys won with an astounding 96%, a whopping 7% more than the choir who came second. This is a record mark for Kearsney!
As soon as our name was read out, the boys shot up from their seats, loud cheers of overwhelming joy and relief filling the arena. They ran out into the isles and burst onto the stage with Chef right behind them. It was a very special moment to see the boys on that stage, proudly singing our national anthem as our country's flag was raised. Words cannot accurately describe the feelings of utter joy and amazement one experiences at a moment like this. I am sure that the boys will never forget this moment and feel sincerely blessed for being part of this truly wondrous experience.
After the ceremony, the boys all gathered outside the arena, where they sang songs, cheered, hugged and high-fived one another and just reveled in the magic of this moment towards which they have worked so hard. Chef also spoke to them and told them how extremely proud he is of them and how blessed and lucky he feels to work with such a dedicated, tenacious and passionate group of young men.
The boys went directly to the catering center for lunch after this. This was our last meal here, and the boys were served a meal of rice, potatoes, barbeque chicken breast and a carrot salad. They all seemed to enjoy the meal - either that or they were just so overcome with joy that they did not really pay attention to what they were eating. :)
We left the catering center at about 12:45 am and arrived back at our hotel at 13:15. All choirs who are champions in a category take part in the Champions Concert, which started at 15:00. So the boys were then given some free time and to do some final shopping. They had to be ready and dressed in their Scenic Pop uniform at 14:30 to got to the Riga Congress Centre for the Champions Concert.
It is now almost 16:00 and I am typing this while waiting for our boys to perform - no doubt they are last on the programme to conclude the concert with a bang!
After the concert, the boys will go to the hotel to quickly change into their Folklore uniform because they are one of only a handful of chosen choirs to perform at tonight's Closing Concert at Mezaparks. We must be at Mezaparks at 19:00 for a sound check.
Mezaparks is a giant open-air stadium and our choir is performing Shosholoza at the request of the World Choir Games committee. They are the only South-African choir performing. This concert starts at 21:00, and the boys will only have time to have dinner afterwards. It is going to be long night for them and they are bound to be blissfully exhausted as their heads hit their pillows tonight!
Tonight is our last night in Riga - we leave the hotel at 06:00 tomorrow morning for our connecting flight to Amsterdam at 09:00.
Will send another update soonest.
The Arena Riga was once again packed with choirs from all over the world and their was an electric vibe of anticipation in the air. The Scenic Pop category was announced near the end of the ceremony. As hoped, our name was not read out until the instrumental fanfare sounded which indicated that the name of the next announcement is the champion of the category. Our boys won with an astounding 96%, a whopping 7% more than the choir who came second. This is a record mark for Kearsney!
As soon as our name was read out, the boys shot up from their seats, loud cheers of overwhelming joy and relief filling the arena. They ran out into the isles and burst onto the stage with Chef right behind them. It was a very special moment to see the boys on that stage, proudly singing our national anthem as our country's flag was raised. Words cannot accurately describe the feelings of utter joy and amazement one experiences at a moment like this. I am sure that the boys will never forget this moment and feel sincerely blessed for being part of this truly wondrous experience.
After the ceremony, the boys all gathered outside the arena, where they sang songs, cheered, hugged and high-fived one another and just reveled in the magic of this moment towards which they have worked so hard. Chef also spoke to them and told them how extremely proud he is of them and how blessed and lucky he feels to work with such a dedicated, tenacious and passionate group of young men.
The boys went directly to the catering center for lunch after this. This was our last meal here, and the boys were served a meal of rice, potatoes, barbeque chicken breast and a carrot salad. They all seemed to enjoy the meal - either that or they were just so overcome with joy that they did not really pay attention to what they were eating. :)
We left the catering center at about 12:45 am and arrived back at our hotel at 13:15. All choirs who are champions in a category take part in the Champions Concert, which started at 15:00. So the boys were then given some free time and to do some final shopping. They had to be ready and dressed in their Scenic Pop uniform at 14:30 to got to the Riga Congress Centre for the Champions Concert.
It is now almost 16:00 and I am typing this while waiting for our boys to perform - no doubt they are last on the programme to conclude the concert with a bang!
After the concert, the boys will go to the hotel to quickly change into their Folklore uniform because they are one of only a handful of chosen choirs to perform at tonight's Closing Concert at Mezaparks. We must be at Mezaparks at 19:00 for a sound check.
Mezaparks is a giant open-air stadium and our choir is performing Shosholoza at the request of the World Choir Games committee. They are the only South-African choir performing. This concert starts at 21:00, and the boys will only have time to have dinner afterwards. It is going to be long night for them and they are bound to be blissfully exhausted as their heads hit their pillows tonight!
Tonight is our last night in Riga - we leave the hotel at 06:00 tomorrow morning for our connecting flight to Amsterdam at 09:00.
Will send another update soonest.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
World Champions again!
Fantastic news from the World Choir Games in Latvia. Our choir earned gold and achieved Champion status in the Scenic Pop category! They score a fabulous 96%.
Wow boys! What a great achievement. World champions! The feeling must be euphoric.
The boys have now achieved gold in each of their three categories.
We are so proud. More news and photographs soon.
We are so proud. More news and photographs soon.
 |
| Champions! Scenic Pop. Gold medals all round. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)