The University Choir of Stellenbosch, under the baton of André van der Merwe, was the biggest winner at the eighth International Choir Games held in Russia.
The games came to an end this past weekend.
The choir won first places and gold medals in three categories. In the category for sacred á Capella, it received a score of 92 percent; in the category for spirituals 94 percent; and, in the category for contemporary music 98 percent.
This is the highest score awarded in any of the 27 categories in which choirs competed in over the last 10 days.
With this achievement, the university choir keeps its first place on the Interkultur list as best international non-professional choir – a position the choir has been holding since 2012.
A further bonus was the special CD contract for the coveted Choirs of the World series.
The International Choir Games are held biannually, and this year more than 300 choirs from 36 countries competed.
This is the biggest choir competition in the world.
Interkultur earlier announced that the ninth International Choir Games in 2018 will be in Tshwane, South Africa.
The SU Choir consists of 120 students, and André van der Merwe has led the choir for the last 12 years.
The Choir returned to Cape Town International Airport in two groups; with some coming back yesterday, Tuesday July 19, and the remainder on Friday July 22.
