Sound On! Stellenbosch University choir strikes gold in Denmark
André van der Merwe, who has led the choir since 2003, expressed his pride in the students' dedication, 'They sing in the choir for the love of singing. Our marks of above 95% for all three categories are an incredible compliment at an international level. I am such a proud choir master.'
Choir committee chairperson Talyah Greyling, a Master's student in Actuarial Science, highlighted the personal growth and unity forged on tour:``
'Our slogan is 'a family of voices', and during this competition week we had the opportunity to live together, eat together, adventure together and get to know a whole new country and culture together.'
Listen to their top-level performance of Coldplay's 'Fix You' in Aarhus, Denmark:
Now's the perfect time to explore the choir's hometown of Stellenbosch, also described as South Africa's food capital by renowned chef Bertus Basson.
Wine Town Stellenbosch returns from 26 July to 3 August 2025, bringing with it nine days of tastings, cellar tours, winemaker dinners and workshops - all leading up to the headline Stellenbosch Wine Festival on 1 & 2 August at the Town Hall.
It's a celebration of South Africa's wine heritage with 50+ top producers (including first-timers like De Meye and Hidden Valley), over 200 wines, live music, and a lavish Graze Table curated by Basson's team.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
Edinburgh set to host 100+ free events in festival of knowledge
A myriad of issues – including personal data, the use of Scots language, future cities and a range of other social topics – will be discussed during the Royal Society of Edinburgh 's (RSE) Curious Festival of Knowledge. A SERIES of talks and workshops on health, the creative arts and video games will be held during a festival on knowledge in September. Held from September 6-14, one of the free festival's highlights is a talk on Scotland's colonial past, led by PhD student Ash Charlton, who was recently a project researcher with the University of Edinburgh's anatomical museum. The talk, titled Taken, studied, displayed: readdressing the University of Edinburgh's African skull collections – will explore a recent project to research and improve documentation of the museum's skull collections as a basis for future repatriation requests. READ MORE: Scots Language Centre plunged into crisis as board resigns over payments row Charlton said: 'This event will share the stories of the individuals whose skulls are in the collection, where they came from and how they became part of the museum's collection. 'Unfortunately, very little is known about most of these individuals through historic erasure and lack of documentation, although through this talk I will discuss some of the few cases we know more about. 'Conversely a lot more is known about the 'donors' who presented these human remains to the university. Medical students, doctors, religious missionaries, geologists and botanists were all responsible for contributing to the growing anatomy collections.' Play for Good: Video game exhibition Also featuring at the festival is Play for Good, a video game exhibition on how they can help with health, wellbeing and social inclusion. Event organiser Dr Andrew Reid, of Abertay University and member of the Young Academy of Scotland, said: 'Simply put, designing games for good means thinking about how games can provide a positive outcome to various social or cultural environments. 'We've got a couple of projects here that are showing games to promote physical activity by using your body as an input, all the way through to exploring mental health as a topic. 'These are generally spaces that are quite difficult to deal with in any given context, but within games we create a safe space to explore some very challenging issues and very challenging conversations.' Walking tour around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard While many of the Curious events are held within the RSE, this year's programme also features an interactive walking tour around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard. Led by Daria Tuhtar, the tour will explore the unique and intricate language of symbols and metaphors that many of the monuments in Greyfriars are decorated with, and how people's attitudes towards death have changed with the passage of time. The tour will uncover how ideas of death, immortality and resurrection coalesce in one of the most striking locations that Edinburgh boasts. Royal Society of Edinburgh general secretary professor Jo Shaw said: 'Today we announce the programme of the RSE's Curious festival. 'Curious is an opportunity to throw open the door to the RSE, Scotland's National Academy. We're bringing together some of Scotland's leading thinkers, covering a broad range of topics – from video games to UFOs – and starting important conversations around big ideas. 'Everyone is welcome, and you don't need any prior knowledge to take part and learn something new. Most importantly, every event is free. Just bring yourself and your curiosity.'
Daily Record
10 hours ago
- Daily Record
Dive into Scotland's heritage and science as Festival of Knowledge comes to Edinburgh
A major Scottish festival that aims to spark conversations around some of the biggest questions facing society today returns from September 6 to 14. A major festival celebrating Scotland's heritage, culture and science will return this September with a packed programme of free talks, workshops and interactive events. Running from September 6 to 14, the Royal Society of Edinburgh's (RSE) Curious Festival of Knowledge aims to spark conversations around some of the biggest questions facing society today. Topics will range from Scotland's colonial past and the ethics of museum collections to the power of video games, the Scots language, future cities and personal data. Among this year's highlights is a talk titled Taken, studied, displayed: readdressing the University of Edinburgh's African skull collections, led by PhD student Ash Charlton. A former project researcher with the University of Edinburgh's anatomical museum, Charlton will explore how skulls from Africa became part of the institution's historic collection, and the challenges of addressing this complex legacy. 'This event will share the stories of the individuals whose skulls are in the collection, where they came from and how they became part of the museum's collection,' said Charlton. 'Unfortunately, very little is known about most of these individuals through historic erasure and lack of documentation, although through this talk I will discuss some of the few cases we know more about. 'Conversely a lot more is known about the 'donors' who presented these human remains to the university. Medical students, doctors, religious missionaries, geologists and botanists were all responsible for contributing to the growing anatomy collections.' The festival also looks to the future, with Play for Good, an exhibition on how video games can positively impact health, wellbeing and social inclusion. The event is organised by Dr Andrew Reid of Abertay University and a member of the Young Academy of Scotland. 'Simply put, designing games for good means thinking about how games can provide a positive outcome to various social or cultural environments,' said Dr Reid. 'We've got a couple of projects here that are showing games to promote physical activity by using your body as an input, all the way through to exploring mental health as a topic. 'These are generally spaces that are quite difficult to deal with in any given context, but within games we create a safe space to explore some very challenging issues and very challenging conversations.' Adding a historical and artistic dimension to the programme, an interactive walking tour through Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard will delve into the symbolism and metaphors etched into its monuments. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Led by Daria Tuhtar, the tour will examine how changing attitudes toward death, immortality and resurrection are reflected in the gravestones. 'Curious is an opportunity to throw open the door to the RSE, Scotland's National Academy,' said Professor Jo Shaw, General Secretary of the RSE. 'We're bringing together some of Scotland's leading thinkers, covering a broad range of topics, from video games to UFOs, and starting important conversations around big ideas. 'Everyone is welcome, and you don't need any prior knowledge to take part and learn something new. Most importantly, every event is free. Just bring yourself and your curiosity.'
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Prince Harry's moving solo trip without Meghan days after 'peace summit' talks
Prince Harry echoed his mum with a solo trip to a minefield on Wednesday just days after 'peace talks' between his and cancer-battling King Charles' top aides Prince Harry made a moving visit to a location with connections to Princess Diana without Meghan, after his aides held secret "peace summit" with King Charles ' top team last week. The Duke of Sussex visited an Angolan minefield 28 years after his mother's famous visit to the same country. Harry, as a patron of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, spoke to families in a remote village near Africa's largest minefield on Wednesday. This special trip comes just days after a remarkable meeting between the Harry's and Charles' camps, with senior aides from both sides spotted around a table at a London private members' club. Prince Harry 's top aides extended an olive branch to the King by expressing the Duke of Sussex's desire to avoid "ambushing" the royals in a attempt to regain regular communication with his cancer-battling father. Meredith Maines, the chief communications officer for Harry and Charles' communications secretary, Tobyn Andreae, met last Wednesday in London with the estranged Prince wishing for a "roadmap for more regular communication" with his dad. Sources in the US have told the Mirror that although the summit was informal, it covered several critical issues. These included avoiding undisclosed revelations between LA and the Palace during sensitive periods and coordination to avoid "clashing narratives". However, his Prince William is still 'deeply wounded' by his brother and has no plans to contact him, a source told the Mirror. The source said: "The Prince of Wales remains deeply wounded by Prince Harry's various allegations in his memoir and endless broadcast interviews over the last few years. "There are no plans to either make contact with or arrange to see the Duke of Sussex in the near future and regardless of any members of the family seeking reconciliation, that is certainly not on the prince's mind. Both the Prince and Princess of Wales are entirely focussed on their various important duties and their own family." Prince Harry was on a solo mission as he echoed his late mother on his visit to Angola. A source told the Daily Mail that the Duke of Sussex was taking the trip alone, after he decided it was too dangerous for Meghan Markle to join him. The source told the publication: 'The duke won't let his wife go to England over security concerns, so there was no chance he'd allow her to go to Angola to walk across landmines.' The source added: "Halo is really his thing, it means so much to him to be patron and he just wants to keep his work with them to himself." The Duke of Sussex was highlighting the threat of the munitions in the African country, the same nation Diana, Princess of Wales visited in 1997 to urge the world to ban the weapons. He gave children in Cuito Cuanavale advice on avoiding detonating mines, telling them in Portuguese: "Stop, go back and tell your elders." On Tuesday, he met Angola's President Joao Lourenco and welcomed the leader's intention to continue support for the removal of landmines left from the civil war that ended in 2002. Months before she died in a car crash, Diana, wearing a protective visor and vest, walked through a minefield being cleared by the Halo Trust. She strode through a cleared path in a Huambo minefield, and the images of her in body armour and a mask gave the anti-landmine campaign global recognition. Harry, who also echoed Diana in a 2019 visit to an Angolan minefield, said: "Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day." It is estimated that at least 60,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines in Angola since 2008, the Halo Trust said. Prince Harry has previously called Africa his "home away from home" but he embarked on his latest trip without Meghan. The Prince himself ruled out his wife's attendance on the landmine walk, which had been planned months ago. A source in Angola, according to the MailOnline claimed "Harry didn't want Meghan there", partly due to concerns for her safety but also allegedly because he believed the Halo Charity was his "thing".
