At some 100 strong this choir draws its members from across all disciplines and stages of study at Stellenbosch University. The Stellenbosch University Choir is the oldest and most celebrated choir in South Africa. The Choir was founded in 1936 under the baton of William Morris. After him various conductors established the ensemble as an influential South African choir:
Gawie Cillié (1940 - 1954)
Philip McLachlan (1955 - 1976)
Johan de Villiers (1977 - 1984)
Acáma Fick (1985 - 1992)
Sonja van der Walt (1993 - 2002)
André van der Merwe (2003 - )
The Choir, an ensemble of approximately 80 – 100 voices, has won international acclaim through performances, concert tours, and participation in prestigious festivals and competitions. At the World Choir Games in Bremen (2004) they won the category for Mixed Youth Choirs and in Graz, Austria (2008), they won the category for Musica Sacra. In July 2010, the Stellenbosch University Choir took part in the 6th World Choir Games in China and won the categories Contemporary Music as well as Mixed Choirs. The Choir won the latter category with 95.75 points - 8 points more than the choir that came second and with the highest score of the whole competition. The choir competed in the 7th World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. They won the Mixed Choirs and Musica Sacra categories with 93.50 points and 96.88 points, respectively and placed second in the Popular Choral Music category with 91.25 points. Not only was their score of 96.88 points in Musica Sacra the highest in the category, but also the highest score ever attained by any choir in any category at the World Choir Games. In July 2014, the choir competed at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. The choir won all three their competition categories and once again achieved the highest mark in the history of the competition with 99%. In July 2016, the choir also won all three their categories at the World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia, with the highest overall marks for the competition. In July 2018, the choir took part in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales and won all three their categories. Our conductor also received the coveted Jayne Davies Prize for Outstanding Conductor at the event. The choir is currently ranked 1st on the Interkultur World Ranking List for amateur choirs.
[The Choir comprises of students from various academic courses and generally only a few members study music]
