The Ndlovu Youth Choir’s infectious energy has taken the world by storm. The choir has evolved into an outstanding, awe-inspiring and professional singing group.
From humble beginnings as an after-school programme in Limpopo, the Ndlovu Youth Choir’s story is indeed one of hope and perseverance. They had the whole of Mzansi standing together and rooting for them at this year’s highly-rated talent show, America’s Got Talent. This incredible group of youngsters, together with their choir conductor Ralf Schmitt, had the American audience and judges mesmerised with Mzansi-flavoured songs such as Vicky Sampson’s ‘My African Dream’. They continued to fly the South African flag high up until they reached the finals of the show.
Jet Club spoke to Ralf Schmitt to share the history of the Ndlovu Youth Choir and the colourful journey they’ve been on.
HOW DID THE NDLOVU YOUTH CHOIR START?
The choir started ten years ago as an after-school programme of the Ndlovu Care Group. Initially, it was meant for orphans and vulnerable children of the childcare programme. Two years ago we decided to go professional and start generating an income for our older, unemployed singers. We found that once the kids graduated from high school there were no employment opportunities for them and no opportunities to study further at a tertiary level. We decided to start a bit of job creation for them and things have flown beyond our wildest dreams since then.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME NDLOVU?
The name comes from the founder and CEO of the Ndlovu Care Group, philanthropist Dr Hugo Tempelman. When he was a student in Holland his university residence was called Die Oliefante, which translates to Ndlovu in isiZulu and that’s how the name came about.
WHAT KIND OF CULTURE DO YOU HAVE IN THE CHOIR?
We have a lovely culture; it’s a one of caring, a strong family bond, and always looking out for one another.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION TO KEEP THE CHOIR ALIVE AND SUCCESSFUL?
The drive and motivation to keep the choir alive and successful is two-fold. On the one side, we want to keep on inspiring people and creating beautiful art and representing South Africa the best we can. These young people are the future of South Africa and we want them to spread their wings into greatness. From the management side, our drive is to ensure that the programme is sustainable and that the choristers have an income that supports them.
WHICH INTERNATIONAL STAGES HAVE YOU PERFORMED ON?
The most recent is the United States at the America’s Got Talent show; we’ve been to Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland. We’ve done numerous tours in Europe and will be back in Germany again in December.
WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST DREAMS FOR THE CHOIR?
What I’d like to achieve for the choir is that all the choristers have sustainable employment and that the younger ones receive a better education, and for everybody to have a better life. On another level, that we keep on inspiring South Africans through our music. These young people show the very best that our country can be and we want to carry on capturing that.
WHAT KIND OF CULTURE DO YOU HAVE IN THE CHOIR?
We have a lovely culture; it’s a one of caring, a strong family bond, and always looking out for one another.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION TO KEEP THE CHOIR ALIVE AND SUCCESSFUL?
The drive and motivation to keep the choir alive and successful is two-fold. On the one side, we want to keep on inspiring people and creating beautiful art and representing South Africa the best we can. These young people are the future of South Africa and we want them to spread their wings into greatness. From the management side, our drive is to ensure that the programme is sustainable and that the choristers have an income that supports them.
HOW WAS THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WITH SIMON COWELL AT AGT?
Simon Cowell is a lovely guy, he greeted each of the choristers individually. He is a very kind man and we were very lucky to meet him. We received only positive comments from the judges throughout America’s Got Talent. We worked hard for that reputation and Simon Cowell can recognise excellence and star quality and he saw that in these young singers.
DID YOU EXPECT TO REACH THE FINAL STAGES OF THE COMPETITION?
No, not at all. We thought we would do the audition and people would say ‘that was lovely but you can go home’. Each round we were there to give the best version of ourselves and I couldn’t be prouder of the kids. We are the first choir to ever reach the finals of the America’s Got Talent competition, so it was really an extraordinary achievement.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT ON STAGE?
I would say the finals of America’s Got Talent, it was the end of the competition and it was a celebratory moment. Each of the choristers have their special moments but every time we were on stage, we had to pinch ourselves to think that we’re in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre, wow!
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED WHILE IN AMERICA?
Obviously homesickness, we were there for five and a half weeks so the guys missed home a lot. But we overcame this by cooking some pap and sishebo and creating a happy atmosphere. When you are in a large group positive communication is key and making sure that everyone is on the same page. Contacting home also made things easier, reading the thousands of wonderful messages of support and love from South Africans kept us inspired and gave us the added boost to persevere.
ANY PLANS IN THE PIPELINE?
There’s an album coming out hopefully on the 29th of November that is very exciting for us, we cannot wait! We have a tour in Germany in December and we are performing all over South Africa in all the major cities.
WHAT DO YOU DO FUN?
We like to just hang out. A lot of the members write their own music and so it is nice to sometimes update each other on our lives and get creative together. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and we now know each other very well. We’re very lucky to be part of the Ndlovu family.
WHO IS THE FUNNIEST MEMBER OF THE CHOIR?
There are so many funny guys, hahaha! You always need the jokers in the group to keep the spirits high and it is important for the group dynamic to keep everyone happy and smiling.
FOR UPCOMING CHOIRS AND SINGERS, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM TO HELP THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY TO STARDOM?
Never give up on your dream. Carry on working, creating beautiful content and believing in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself you cannot really expect anyone else to! So believe in the journey you’re on, keep at it and stay strong through the difficult times. Our choristers have experienced difficult times but pulled through them and fought through it.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION TO KEEP THE CHOIR ALIVE AND SUCCESSFUL?
The drive and motivation to keep the choir alive and successful is two-fold. On the one side, we want to keep on inspiring people and creating beautiful art and representing South Africa the best we can. These young people are the future of South Africa and we want them to spread their wings into greatness. From the management side, our drive is to ensure that the programme is sustainable and that the choristers have an income that supports them.
HOW WAS THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WITH SIMON COWELL AT AGT?
Simon Cowell is a lovely guy, he greeted each of the choristers individually. He is a very kind man and we were very lucky to meet him. We received only positive comments from the judges throughout America’s Got Talent. We worked hard for that reputation and Simon Cowell can recognise excellence and star quality and he saw that in these young singers.
DID YOU EXPECT TO REACH THE FINAL STAGES OF THE COMPETITION?
No, not at all. We thought we would do the audition and people would say ‘that was lovely but you can go home’. Each round we were there to give the best version of ourselves and I couldn’t be prouder of the kids. We are the first choir to ever reach the finals of the America’s Got Talent competition, so it was really an extraordinary achievement.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT ON STAGE?
I would say the finals of America’s Got Talent, it was the end of the competition and it was a celebratory moment. Each of the choristers have their special moments but every time we were on stage, we had to pinch ourselves to think that we’re in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre, wow!
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED WHILE IN AMERICA?
Obviously homesickness, we were there for five and a half weeks so the guys missed home a lot. But we overcame this by cooking some pap and sishebo and creating a happy atmosphere. When you are in a large group positive communication is key and making sure that everyone is on the same page. Contacting home also made things easier, reading the thousands of wonderful messages of support and love from South Africans kept us inspired and gave us the added boost to persevere.
ANY PLANS IN THE PIPELINE?
There’s an album coming out hopefully on the 29th of November that is very exciting for us, we cannot wait! We have a tour in Germany in December and we are performing all over South Africa in all the major cities.
WHAT DO YOU DO FUN?
We like to just hang out. A lot of the members write their own music and so it is nice to sometimes update each other on our lives and get creative together. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and we now know each other very well. We’re very lucky to be part of the Ndlovu family.
WHO IS THE FUNNIEST MEMBER OF THE CHOIR?
There are so many funny guys, hahaha! You always need the jokers in the group to keep the spirits high and it is important for the group dynamic to keep everyone happy and smiling.
FOR UPCOMING CHOIRS AND SINGERS, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM TO HELP THEM ON THEIR JOURNEY TO STARDOM?
Never give up on your dream. Carry on working, creating beautiful content and believing in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself you cannot really expect anyone else to! So believe in the journey you’re on, keep at it and stay strong through the difficult times. Our choristers have experienced difficult times but pulled through them and fought through it.
THE NDLOVU YOUTH CHOIR INSPIRES THE NATION
Reviewed by Jet Club
on
November 22, 2019
Rating:
Reviewed by Jet Club
on
November 22, 2019
Rating:
