Playing the field
Performing at the 2013 Field Band National Championships on September 28 at Wanderers Stadium, the PFG Londulusha Field Band from Springs finished as the first runner up.
The band went into this year’s competition defending their title as the 2012 Field Band National Champions but were knocked down to the first runner up position by the De Beers PPC Kimberley Field Band.
PFG Londulusha has been around since 1997 and serves two communities, one in KwaThema and another in Emaphupheni.
The mission of the field band is to teach life skills through music and dance. There are four sections in the field band they are brass, marimba and steel drum, percussion and dance.
“In July, every province holds a regional festival and each band performs their show then videos of each band are taken to our field band academy. All the bands that performed very well in those festivals are sent to the national championships in September. We were one of those bands,” says band manager Bheki Jodwana.
PFG Londulusha also came first for the Best Overall Musical Performance, first for Best Pit Percussion, first for the Best Marimba and Steel Drum and second for Best Brass Performance.
Jodwana says on the morning of the competition the pressure was on and they did a dress rehearsal to be ready for the day.
“I could see in the children’s faces that they were ready to defend their championship status. Even though we are not the best band in the country this year, at least we are second best and seeing the other bands perform is always a wonderful feeling,” he says.
They were the last band to perform and their theme this year was ‘Don’t Stop the Music’.
“The high-quality performances have proved yet again that these youngsters are prepared to put in the hard yards in the pursuit of excellence, and that they take pride in their work. We salute them and their hard-working tutors,” says chairman of the Field Band Foundation’s board, Herman Mashaba.
