Messiah experienced by thousands of rural youth

About 6,000 children and teens from rural areas attended the Händel's
Messiah at Kwasizabantu Mission  on 8 December, rendered by the Natal Bach
Choir and P.A.M.S. Choir with the P.A.M.S. Augmented Orchestra under the
baton of Lutz Kohrs.
Mr Lionel Mtshali, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, told the audience that "we
should seek more time to enjoy cultural programmes of this calibre." He
praised the professional rendition of Händel's Messiah.
Also in attendance was the German Ambassador, Mrs Anna Margareta  Peters,
who was in KwaZulu-Natal for the first time. In her greeting she said that
"music is a gift of God."
Other dignitaries who attended, included: Mr C. Ngiba (Member of Parliament
KwaZulu-Natal), Mr P. Ngubane (the mayor of Umvoti district); Mr Meinhard
Uken (Deutscher Kulturrat/German Cultural Association).

Although an orchestral and choral performance of this nature is normally
beyond their reach, the audience, consisting of mostly teenagers from
townships and rural areas, sat through a three hour performance with great
enjoyment and attentiveness. The youth are attending the bi-annual Youth
Week at Kwasizabantu Mission where the theme is "Youth. in this age".

Händel's Messiah was performed by The Natal Bach Choir and P.A.M.S. Choir
with the P.A.M.S. Augmented Orchestra, conducted by  Lutz Kohrs. The
soloists were Linelle Wimbles (soprano), Margi Nel (contralto), Nicholas
Nicolaïdis (tenor) and John Butler (bass).

To download photos go to: www.ksb.org.za/Photos/messiah.htm