Sounds of Jozi choir goes from strength to strength

They say music can soothe a broken heart and bring hope to a person who has lost hope.

Sounds of Jozi has that soothing and hopeful sound. Established in 2013, the choir was a dream of South African music legend Themba Mkhize, who is well known for his work in the African jazz realm.

He dreamt of a choir that he can mentor and groom to be one of the best choirs around.

“Ubab’ Mkhize is my mentor musically, and every time we speak of music he would share his dream of having a choir to mentor. I fell in love with the dream and since I was already a student at Campus of Performing Arts, I got students from school who also fell in love with the dream,” said the choir spokeperson, Sibusiso Mtshali.

Sibusiso said the choir has been growing from strength to strength under bab’Mkhize’s guidance and the choir’s hard work and dedication.

The 15 member choir consist of writers, composers, and artists which adds diversity to the group because creativity is always part of every practice session.

“We are all artists in general and this then allows the creative process to be an open platform to everyone in the choir. We attack topics that are relevant when writing. We speak of our everyday life, a reflection of our reality whether it be past, present or even the future” said Mr Mtshali.

Sounds of Jozi performs different kinds of music as this allows them to explore different genres so they can cater to all music lovers.

“We do different kinds of music. I cannot say that we have a specific sound but we try involve ourselves in all kinds of sounds to increase versatility,” said Mr Mtshali.

The choir has been performing mostly for the love of music and for entertainment but has never entered any competition.

“We have done a lot of corporate gigs. It’s only now that we are leaning more towards making it a commercial choir and the future plan is to make it the next big choir in arts and culture. We are also busy with ubab’ Mkhize, recording our first of many albums,” said Mr Mtshali.

He said it has not been an easy road as there are challenges they face as a choir but they always try to make what resources they have work.

“Every choir or project faces its own challenges, some internal and some wide spread, but our biggest challenge has been resources,” said Mr Mtshali.

Describing the choir and its inspiration, he says they are inspired by Ladysmith Black Mambazo because of the way they approach and respect their craft.

“When looking at their humble beginnings and where they are now with regards to their achievements, we cannot help but marvel at their success and be inspired,” said Mr Mtshali.

Sounds of Jozi provides a mixture of different styles of music because of the approach they take musically and that sets them apart from other choirs.

Mr Mtshali described Sound of Jozi as something different because of how they explore things that not a lot of choirs do.

“We are a true definition of a rainbow nation and our synergy oozes vibrancy and life. Our performance style is also quite rare in the world of choirs and that makes us stand out,” said Mr Mtshali.

The choir is featured on season one and two of Imizwilili a choral music show on SABC 1.

For more information on the choir you can contact Sibusiso Mtshali at Sibusisomtshali007@gmail.com or SoundsOfJozi@gmail.com and you can contact him on 078 649 1766.