Nina Brand’s flame of pride burns brightly
Performing the national anthem has been dream for Nina Brand for as long as she can remember.
She was only two years old when she was sitting in her mum’s shopping trolley, bellowing out the national anthem word for word.
And that love of her country and the national anthem reached a climax on Saturday when Nina Terblanche (26), stage name Nina Brand, a Mbombelan born and bred, sang “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” at the 2024 Rugby Championship at the Mbombela Stadium.
Besides having the honour of greeting the world with this anthem, the Terblanche family have now became part and parcel of the history of this iconic stadium as her dad, Jacques, was the architect who designed it.
“I am very proud to be a Lowvelder. It’s a beautiful place and I love the people here. I matriculated from Curro Nelspruit in 2017. Before that I attended Penryn College from preschool until the end of primary school,” Nina said.
Although she is a qualified chef who trained at the Institute of Culinary Arts and specialised in patisserie, and worked for the world-renowned chef Bertus Basson at his fine dining restaurant Eike in Stellenbosch, her musical talent ‘forced’ her to make a career change.
“Interestingly enough, there wasn’t one specific moment that made me realise I could sing,” she told Lowvelder. “It was something I realised over a few years of singing in a choir and doing eisteddfods as a young child that made me confident of my talent.”
Saturday’s performance was a lifelong dream of hers that became true. “It was an incredible moment to stand in front of a packed stadium with about 43 000 people. It’s not something you can fully comprehend and explain to anyone, because it was just that incredible. It’s a feeling I will never forget,” a still very excited Nina said.
“I must say, the highlight during the singing was when the crowd started singing the Afrikaans section of the anthem. I was absolutely blown away. But my favourite part was ending off the anthem with all the fireworks shooting behind me and the crowd cheering.”
The road to her moment of fame started earlier this year when her agent, who knew it was a dream of hers, reached out to Saru. A few artists were selected for the test series and after hearing her demo of singing the anthem, she was chosen. “I was ecstatic when I heard the amazing news from Saru. I still remember jumping up and down from excitement when the call ended,” she said.
She currently lives in Cape Town and studying for a bachelor’s degree in strategic branding and communications at Vega Business School.
Although she has performed in a few places in New York and Los Angeles, her favourite way of relaxing is in the bushveld nibbling on her favourite, her mum, Alta’s apricot chicken dish, and sipping a glass of Method Cap Classique. “This is where my soul resets,” she said.
And why is her stage name Nina Brand? This change came after she had won the overall female vocal category at the International Presentation of Performers in Los Angeles in 2022.
“The Americans really struggled to pronounce my surname, Terblanche. They called me three times, but I didn’t realise it was my surname. Eventually I stood up to receive the award. This is when I changed my stage name to Brand, as it is my mum’s maiden name. I decided to keep it in the family.”
