To see a drop down list of the recordings click the small box at the top right with the three horizontal lines in it, then click the song you want to play.
The Independent Church is the largest church in Oudtshoorn, seating 8,000. It is situated in Bridgton which is the ‘coloured’ area of Oudtshoorn. The 20 piece choir is led by Erica Fortuin and is made up of about two thirds women and one third men. The two tracks are from their CD recorded May 2009 entitled ‘Amazing Grace’. The first track was recorded with a visiting pastor from Zimbabwe called Takesure Nhau taking the lead. All the instruments comprising the orchestra were played by Aniel Ewerts on a Yamaha keyboard.
The Philladelphians ( that’s with three ‘Ls’!) are a six piece a cappella group from Bridgton. They have been singing together over a period of about 25 years. Their leader is Esau Lourens and the other members are Henry Lourens, Michael Davids, Jacobus Lourens, Jevon Augulhas and Leslie Meiking. Their CD entitled ‘Gentle Shepherd’ is due to be released shortly.
Elzabeth – that’s Elizabeth without the ‘i’- is sixteen years old, a young Afrikaans woman who attends school at Langenhoven Gimnasium in Oudtshoorn.
She sings for pleasure and at her local church, and is now receiving advanced vocal training. Her CD is entitled ‘Dit is ook maar hier’ and is available now.
Contact details Reno van der Bijl (27) 083 497 5714
JACKIE PIETERSE and friends
Sample tracks
Shepherd of my soul
Ek is vry
Jackie who is a 25 year old young woman takes the lead on all the tracks on her CD which is as yet not released. She sings with her friends Chantle, Joseph and Andre. She has been singing in church since she was fourteen and works in the Indraf Kafee in St Saviour Street in Oudtshoorn.
(WEYERS MEMORIAL UNITED CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH)
Sample tracks
He holds my hand
A perfect day
Edward Snyman is the leader of the twenty person choir. They have been singing together for 24 years and are based in Bridgton. They have plans in hand to reproduce their CD.
Contact details Frederick Lourens Telephone (27) 073 132 2821
MACHEL KALP
Sample tracks
Net een dans
Die dom dans
Machel – pronounced Marshall – is a 28 year old Afrikaans young man. His CD is called ‘Die dom dans’ and is available now. He wrote a number of songs on the CD including the two sample tracks. He has been singing for four years and won the local Eden talent contest. He also won the ‘Idols’ competition at Stompdrifdam and has performed with a number of well known South African artists such as Pieter Koen and Pieter Smith. He is currently organizing a talent contest for local artists.
Contact details Machel Kalp Telephone (27) 084 621 2836
THE HEAVENLY MESSENGERS
Sample tracks
One day He’s coming
As the birds fly home
The Heavenlies are an eight man a cappella group from Bridgton who have sung together for three decades. The choirmaster is Johnny Arries, the remaining members being Piet Nimmerhout, Daniel Prins, Hendrik Goliath, Jerry Goliath, Joey Hefke and Derrik Oliphant. Their ages range from 22 to 57. Their CD entitled ‘Eternal Paradise’ is due for release during the first week in July 2009.
David Lucas works as an administrator in the Police Station at Oudtshoorn. He writes all his own material and is a Gospel – Hip Hop artist. All the backing tracks on his CD were recorded by David. At the time of writing we do not know whether he will be releasing his CD.
Contact details David Lucas Telephone (27) 082 243 2807
THE BLOEM STREET COMMUNITY CHOIR
Sample tracks
He’ll understand
Hear and bless
The Bloem Street Community Choir has been in existence for 40 years. The leader of the choir is Reanda Pretorius and there are close to 30 members. Their 17 track CD was recorded at their church and is simple called ‘Bloemstraat Gemeente – Oudtshoorn’. Most of them have no musical background and they sing for the joy of singing.
Stef Kruger is a well known and successful songwriter. He is known as the man behind Dozi’s hits, penning many of the hugely popular South African singer’s recorded songs. The CD he recorded was intended as a demo for his publishers and three of the songs have been sold to date.
The Young Providers are a Gospel vocal group who all attend Bridgton Secondary School. They are all 18 years of age and they are led by Shamilin Matthews. The other members of the group are schoolfriends Shinobia and Roberto. The backings on their CD were recorded by Sherwin Stalmeester. Shamilin wrote two of the songs including ‘Tell me why’.
Sample tracks
From the bottom of my heart
Let’s stick together
Lecinda is an eighteen year old young woman who attends Bridgton Secondary School. She won the ‘Idols’ contest at the 2008 Oudtshoorn Festival. She wrote all the songs on her CD. The backings were provided by her uncle and augmented by me.
As a way of publicizing all of the above, we have produced a compilation album containing the first sample track from each of the artists mentioned above. There is also a bonus track which is the second sample track from The Independent Choir.
We hope to make this CD available from the Die Hoorn office in the Queen’s Mall next to the Pick and Pay supermarket in Oudtshoorn. It will be on sale for R70 and all the proceeds will go towards the purchase of equipment enabling us to reproduce CDs in commercial numbers for no cost to the artists other than the cost of materials.
The CD can also be ordered via e mail or phoning me (see contacts) - 6 pounds includes P and P.
Choir.jpg)
