By Joe-Chintha Garises
WINDHOEK, Aug. 15 — The Collective Singers, a youthful choral group, has been selected to represent Africa at the World Choral Expo in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2022.
The choir got the exciting invitation in August 2021.
The group was started by renowned Namibian vocalist and music producer Ponti Dikuua in 2014 with nine members and two years shy of a decade later, the group boasts 54 members.
“The initial nine were invited to assist Ponti with his solo set at a concert dubbed Hallelujah Namibia. After the performance, the small group remained together because of the beautiful music they had performed.
That’s when Collective Singers was born” Nashawn-George Marenga the choir’s spokesperson said.
The group is initially from Windhoek but different members come from different towns which make it a collective group of singers.
The group is expected to be in Portugal from 3 September 2022 when the expo commences and be back on 9 September.
“The International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. They are hosting a special anniversary event in the form of the third World Choral Expo.
“We were just surprised to receive an invitation in August 2021 to be part of the event. To our understanding, there’s at least a minimum of one choir per continent invited and from Africa, Collective Singers is the only choir who will be representing the continent,” Marenga added.
The IFCM will cover all costs for the choir except for the plane tickets and that’s the only challenge that the choir is facing at the moment.
To raise funds the choir has been hosting concerts for the past months and has approached different potential sponsors but has not yet reached their target amount as they want all the 54 members of the choir to go to the expo.
“We try by all means to stand by our name as much as possible as we love to do things collectively, so, the plan is to have all 54 members aboard the plane, so any good Samaritan who is willing to help can contact us on +264 81 398 9927,” he added.
Marenga said the group members are aged between 20 and 40 years. There are no age restrictions and all that is required is to have a passion for music and fire for the love of the Lord, he said.
“We are very excited and proud to represent the Land of the Brave on such a huge platform. The group understands the magnitude of this mammoth task and we are ready to do our very best!” Marenga added.
