SA solo drum championships

"The championships went fantastic,"

A group getting ready to participate in the South African Solo Drumming Championships.

St Benedict’s College Hosted the African Solo Drumming Championships which took place on September 17 at the Bedfordview school.

Mr Rory Bellingham of the South African Pipe Band Association said that the championships are an annual event and hosted usually by a school.

Mr Bellingham assisted in coordinating and managing the national event.

“The championships went fantastic.This year St Benedict’s kindly hosted the event for the association ” said Mr Bellingham.

Mr Bellingham said that there were over 10 teams competing. This included both teams associated to schools and other organisations such as the Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment pipe band.

Other pipe bands included:

Jeppe High School for Boys.
St Benedict’s College.
Benoni Mactalla.
Pretoria High School for Boys
St Andrew’s School for Girls.
Transvaal Scottish Pipes and Drums group.
De La Salle Holy Cross College.
1 Medical Battalion.
Cornwall Hill College.

The championship was divided into 11 categories.

Theo van Wyk from Benoni Mactalla won the snare drum open march, strathspey and reel category.
Chad Naude of the Transvaal Scottish Pipes and Drums group won the bass drum open march, strathspey and reel category.
Keegan Rohland from Benoni Mactalla won the tenor drum open march, strathspey and reel category.
Ross Campbell from St Benedict’s won the snare drum junior march, strathspey and reel category.
Mandla Ndabula from Jeppe High School For Boys won the bass drum junior march, strathspey and reel category.
Keegan Rohland from Benoni Mactalla won tenor drum junior march, strathspey and reel category.
Timothy Reynolds from Benoni Mactalla won the snare drum novice overall category .
Timothy Reynolds from Benoni Mactalla won the snare drum novice march category .
Lorenzo Germani from De La Salle Holy Cross College won the snare drum novice march, strathspey and reel category .
Dominic Basson from King Edward VII School won the tenor novice march, strathspey and reel category .
Leila Schultz from Jeppe High School for Girls won the drum pad category.

A competitor in the championships Mr Rohan Morgan from the Spirit of Richmond Pipe Band said he enjoyed the championships and that the day went well.

WATCH

Mr Andy Sawyer and Mr Grenville Payne from the Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment pipe band were at the South African Solo Drumming Championships. Mr Sawyer said he has been involved in pipe bands for 42 years while Mr Payne said he has been in pipe bands for 12 years. Mr Payne said the best thing about the championships was the people and the music. “When I played in the ’60s and the ’70s it was very competitive. Now everyone is friendly and helps each other out,” said Mr Payne.

Benoni Mactalla pipe band member Keegan Rohland playing the bass drum at the South African Solo Drumming Championships. He competed in the open and junior march categories.

Kgabe Molepo from Benoni Mactalla playing a tune on the bagpipes at the African Solo Drumming Championships.

Benoni Mactalla performing at the South African Solo Drumming Championships

Competitors in the South African Solo Drumming Championships relaxing and getting to know one another. Seen in the photograph are Benoni Mactalla pipe band members Keegan Rohland, Kgabe Molepo, Mr Mark Gouvea from African Skie (pipe band tutor at Jeppe High School for Boys) and Mandla Ndabula from the Jeppe Boys pipe band.

Trevor Wilson from 1 Medical Battalion based in KwaZulu-Natal practising on his snare drum at the South African Solo Drumming Championships. Trevor came second in the open march, strathspey and reel category.

Romeer Gopee from the Spirit of Richmond Pipe Band performing on his snare drum at the South African Solo Drumming Championships.

Mr Anthony playing the snare drum while both Mr Arthur Bell and Mr Craig Scheffel play the pipe bags. The trio are from the Transvaal Scottish Pipes and Drums group.

St Benedict’s pupils Ritvik Menon, Rahil Sookdeo and Dominic Dacosta walking around the St Benedict’s Collegeand taking a break from the South African Solo Drumming Championships.

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