By Tanele Sihlongonyane | 2024-10-16

Mbabane Chamber Orchestra (Eswatini's first national orchestra) will be travelling to Johannesburg to perform in a large collaborative concert between youth orchestras from Eswatini, South Korea and South Africa.

The aim of the concert is to raise funds to mainly empower the youth in their musical journey. “Funds raised will go towards Africa Ntjilo Empowerment's Music Education Projects for children in Eswatini,” said Dr Hee Tung Kim, the Mbabane Chamber Orchestra Director. Dr Kim further said the Mbabane Chamber Orchestra, which comprises 23 members, Johannesburg Youth Orchestra and Johannesburg Korean Youth Ensemble would come together for a good cause. “Together, we will perform a medley of movie soundtracks - from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, to The Lion King, ‘The Adam's Family’, ‘Studio Ghibli’ and more - as well as traditional African and traditional Korean music,” she said. Scheduled for October 19 at Linder auditorium at Wits University in Johannesburg, the concert promises a diverse and electrifying showcase of musical prowess. Their aim was to empower Emaswati, particularly the youth, by nurturing their talent which would in turn help them compete on a global platform. “Through orchestra music education, we empower Eswatini children and youth's everyday life by driving an authentic learning experience and balanced physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development. We strive to nurture them not only as outstanding musicians with skills and knowledge but as future leaders who are capable of exercising Africa's ownership, identity and dignity on a global stage,” she added.

She said preparations were well underway. “Mbabane Chamber Orchestra members rehearse every day - during the day and in the evening as well. “We are preparing a very large repertoire of 20+ songs on our end alone. The other two youth orchestras have even more of their own repertoire to prepare for the event,” she said. “Attendees can anticipate exciting dramatic renditions of soundracks from popular movies and experience cultural diversity within these soundracks - Western, Latin-American, Japanese - as well as traditional music from South Korea, South Africa and Eswatini. We will perform Mswati uyiNkhosi,” she said. Dr Kim further said they had performed with a number of professional international musicians before, but this will be the first time they perform with full-size orchestras, comprising of 60+ members per orchestra.

“All three orchestras have rehearsed separately but will rehearse altogether when we arrive in Johannesburg. For some of our repertoire, we will perform as individual orchestras, and some we will perform together,” she said. The sponsors for the concert include LG, Loft One, Johannesburg Korean Church and Korean Cultural Centre. Tickets are available at Quicket for E50 per person.

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