The Rhodes University Chamber Choir (RUCC) will tour KwaZulu-Natal from 17 to 24 August 2025, presenting a programme deeply rooted in African musical traditions and social engagement. Comprising approximately 60 choristers, mainly students, the RUCC does more than sing. It reaches into the heart of communities through music, seeking connection, reflection, and shared purpose.
“This tour is not just a performance itinerary - it is a commitment to meaningful exchange,” says acclaimed conductor Mr Sibusiso Njeza. “The choir will deliver music workshops in schools and community centres, offering local pupils direct and interactive encounters with choral music. These workshops are designed not only to teach music but to foster expression, confidence, and creative thinking. Each session becomes a space where music serves as a language of resilience and imagination.”
The RUCC has developed a distinctive sound, marked by its strong focus on African folk melodies while also embracing a global choral repertoire. The choir recently performed with South African music icon Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse at the RU120 Makhanda Community Concert, a collaboration that reinforced its ability to span genres without losing its grounding in lived experience. “For the RUCC, music is not entertainment - it is testimony, memory, and vision,” says Mr Njeza.
The upcoming KZN tour emerges from this philosophy. Mr Njeza has been outspoken about the role of music in a country where poverty continues to shape the futures of many. He often reflects on the difficult choices that define life in rural and working-class communities, where survival demands take precedence over artistic pursuits. “The choir’s aim is to shift that narrative by creating opportunities for young people to encounter music not as a distant performance, but as something immediate, powerful, and within reach,” he explains.
The repertoire RUCC will take on tour reflects this layered approach. Songs such as Indodana, arranged by Mr Njeza, and Baba Yetu by Christopher Tin, evoke both the spiritual and the communal. Traditional African spirituals arranged by Moses Hogan, including We Shall Walk through the Valley in Peace and Deep River, speak to enduring strength in the face of hardship. “These are not songs sung for effect—they are sung from experience, and they speak into the real conditions of the communities the choir will visit,” says Mr Njeza.
Yet RUCC’s musical language also stretches beyond borders. Pieces such as John Rutter’s A Clare Benediction and Phillip Stopford’s For the Beauty of the Earth bring in broader choral traditions that affirm beauty, dignity, and peace. The diversity of the choir’s programme allows them to speak across generations and cultures. The message remains the same: music can open the imagination, shift the atmosphere, and offer new ways of seeing the world and one’s place in it.
“This tour will not be measured in applause or audience numbers. Its impact lies in the conversations sparked, the harmonies shared, and the way it might shift how a young person thinks about their voice, both literally and metaphorically,” Mr Njeza concludes.
The itinerary for the tour includes the following:
- A workshop with school conductors in the Mthwalume area (Mzumbe Municipality) on choir management and other music-related techniques.
- A concert in Port Shepstone on August 18.
- A music exchange workshop with the University of Zululand on their campus on August 20.
- A concert with multiple high schools at Empangeni High School in Richards Bay on August 22.
Those interested in learning more about the tour or connecting with the choir’s leadership team can email Mr Njeza at sibusiso.njeza@ru.ac.za The RUCC invites all who believe in the power of music to accompany them on this journey, not only as listeners but as participants in the ongoing dialogue between art and community.
Note: Video clips of the RUCC performing can be found here. Pictures, supplied by Rhodes University, can be found here.