This year marks the bidecacentennial celebration of Rhodes University, celebrated through the year-long RU120 campaign. The RUCC is, therefore, heeding the clarion call that the university needs to use every opportunity it has to strengthen its ties with broader societal structures.

The RUCC tour to the Western Cape will be focused on giving back through music workshops at local schools along the Garden Route and into the Western Cape Winelands as the choir heads to Cape Town.

Composer, conductor, and RUCC music director Sibusiso Njeza says this is being done as a proactive way of remaining rooted in local lived realities.

Njeza adds that the power of music to overcome cannot be over-emphasised, especially in a country like South Africa, where poverty is rife.

“The lived reality in most rural areas is that survival takes priority over art and music – but what if art and music can help transform lives in real practical and sustainable ways?” asks Njeza.

“Young people need to see relatable role models that prove to them things of beauty can transform their lives to the point where they not only see it but believe it. This is why we are taking the tour to them in small towns all over the Eastern and Western Cape.”

The RUCC tour dates are as follows:

DATES:

18 - 19 August: Southern Cape (George/Mossel Bay area).

20 - 21 August: Ashton (with the Zolani Youth Choir).

22- 24 August: Cape Town (With UCT, SU, and UWC, as well as the Methodist Church Choir in Rondebosch).

The RUCC will engage with schools, prospective students, and communities in all areas visited through music workshops, song exchanges, and diverse collaborations.

Anyone who would like to get involved with the tour through bookings, partnerships, or sponsorships is encouraged to contact:

Sibusiso Njeza: sibusiso.njeza@ru.ac.za / (046) 603 7259