UJ Choir to perform farewell concert before World Symposium in Macau

Before the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Choir takes South African choral music to one of the world’s most prestigious international stages, audiences will have the opportunity to experience its world-bound programme on home soil.

The choir will host its Farewell Concert on August 15 at the UJ Arts Centre’s Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, ahead of its journey to Macau, China, where it will represent South Africa and the African continent at the World Symposium on Choral Music 2026.

Selected from hundreds of choirs across the world, UJ Choir is one of only 13 ensembles invited to perform at the prestigious symposium. It is also the only choir representing the African continent.

In a further honour, the choir has been invited to officially open the symposium programme, a distinction reserved for leading choral ensembles from around the globe.

For the choir, the invitation is about more than an international performance. 

It is an opportunity to place African choral music at the centre of a global exchange involving conductors, composers, scholars, educators and some of the world’s most respected choral ensembles.

The choir will use the international platform to showcase the richness of African choral music, the creativity of South African composers and the artistic excellence found across the continent.

The symposium’s theme, “Reimagining the Future”, also aligns closely with UJ’s commitment to innovation, creativity, African excellence and the role of the arts in creating a more connected world.

For Johannesburg audiences, the farewell concert will offer a first look at the complete programme the choir will perform in Macau.

Rooted in the choir’s distinctive identity, the repertoire features music composed and arranged predominantly by South African musicians. 

It celebrates the languages, stories, rhythms and lived experiences that form part of the country’s musical heritage, while offering a contemporary expression of African choral music.

“This concert is for everyone that has supported, encouraged and carried us to this point,” said Sizwe Mondlane, Senior Choirmaster of UJ Choir.

“Before we take South African choral music to Macau, we want to share this programme with them. We want people to experience it and then send it off into the world with the utmost confidence of authentic representation.”

The concert is expected to bring together audiences, alumni, friends of the choir and members of Johannesburg’s wider choral community for an afternoon of music and celebration.

As the ensemble prepares to carry the voices of home onto the world stage, the Farewell Concert will serve as both a celebration of its achievements and a powerful send-off for a choir poised to make African choral music heard on the international stage.

The UJ Choir Farewell Concert takes place on August 15, from 3pm to 4.30pm at the UJ Arts Centre’s Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre on the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus. Tickets are available through Quicket for R100.

IOL