The stadium was bustling with droves of supporters and music lovers cheering from the stands as six of South Africa’s top field bands entertained the crowd and judges with rumbling horn sections and complex choreography.
The event also commemorated the life of late CEO of the Field Band Foundation, Retha Cilliers, who passed away in February. Newly-appointed chief executive officer, Nicky du Plessis, celebrated the life of Cilliers and said that the foundation continued its growth through its programmes.
She said, “It is now a time for consolidation, where our necessary development of additional training programmes introduced in recent years in support of the more than 5 000 young people we serve, are fully integrated into the structures and costings of all bands.”
The chairman of the Field Band Foundation, Herman Mashaba, expressed gratitude towards the continuing support of the Department of Arts and Culture and said, “We are witness to the foundation remaining true to its core purpose of creating lasting opportunities for young people to take control of their destinies.”
There was tight competition between all the bands and pit percussion judge Caroline Smart said there had been tremendous strides made by all the bands.
Out of all six field bands who participated, PFG Londulusha Field Band from Springs won the Retha Cilliers trophy with their rendition of Summertime by George Gershwin. They also won the Bertie and Ronnie Lubner’s National Champions trophy. Operations leader of PFG, Bheki Jodwana said he was very proud of all his performers and that all their hard work had paid off in the biggest way.
