Abstract
The production of 11/11 came as a result of the need to confirm the rich and diverse musical heritage that the (new) South African nation have. Not only was it important to reflect on the diversity of language and culture, but also to represent the University of Pretoria as an institution that caters for different tastes and genres of choral music, hence the performing groups: The UP Chorale, Tuks Camerata and the UP Concert choir.
The UP Chorale being the choir that focuses on the performance of indigenous South African folk music, the Tuks Camerata focuses on the performance of composed South African and Western repertoire and the Concert Choir.
With this latter choir, different music styles and choral cultures are combined trying to reflect the cultural diversity on the campus of the University of Pretoria.
Choral singing in South Africa is one of the most prevalent communal activities of most culture groups. Because of the changes that post-apartheid South Africa has brought in society, it was necessary to produce a sound-document that would put choral singing in its multi-cultural context. The repertoire on the 11/11 CD is a reflection of the multifaceted complexity of choral singing in South Africa.
There were social and choral technical issues that had to be addressed in this project. With this project, the following were issues of technical concern:
• Tone Quality
• Diction
• Balance
• Blend
• Intonation
• The ability to communicate successfully in a language other than the mother tongue, across cultural borders
• Satisfactory understanding of Performance Practices
Not only is the social impact important to investigate, but also how cultural differences impact on choral-technical issues like intonation, voice production, articulation, diction, etc.
In an article "The American Multicultural curriculum - does it fit South Africa?" (Peterson, Nancy J. Teaching What You're Not: Identity Politics in Higher Education. Ed. Katherine J. Mayberry. New York: New York UP, 1996. 23-46.) the author places emphasis on the fact that all South African learners should be introduced to all musical systems, both Western and otherwise. According to Peterson the ideal multicultural approach for South Africa would be to be uniquely South African in context and to excel in song. With the production of 11/11 it is my belief that students came to learn more about each other's cultures through the ways of singing that are closely related to language and cultural identity.