Lerato Matheka
MASERU — Seven choirs that were expected to take part at the much-anticipated Africa Melody Festival (AMF) at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre next week have withdrawn, leaving just 32 choirs to compete for honours. The ninth annual AMF is set to take place on December 2.
Among the choirs that have thrown in the towel are Mokhotlong LEC that was set to compete in the silver category while St Peters LCYM, Thamae LEC, Monyakoane LEC, St Savior Youth, TY LEC and Lerotholi Polytechnic (LP) Choir were all registered in the bronze section.
Choral Music Federation of Lesotho spokesperson, Sam Letima, told XpressPeople the choirs withdrew due to internal problems. He said most of the choirs were on the brink of collapse. “Their general reason is the dismantling of choirs. The choirs’ conductors and presidents reported that they failed to keep their choirs consistent and sustainable throughout the year so it was hard to get choristers in time for the AMF,” he said.
Letima said LP Choir had asked to be excused as the group is “made-up of Lerotholi Polytechnic students who are preparing for examinations”.
He said the withdrawal of the seven choirs showed there was a need to hold management training courses to keep the choirs intact.
“The federation was happy to see a large increase in the number of choirs at this year’s AMF from 27 to 39, but these withdrawals are alerting us not only to focus on the training of music but to also provide training on choir management,” he said. He said this will help them have sustainable and consistent choirs. “These problems are arising at a time when the federation is in the process of shaking things up for next year.
“We are going to introduce new programmes for development and progress of the choral music industry in the country,” Letima said.
Asked if the smaller choirs are not being neglected, Letima said the only weakness was that they tended to focus on music development and not the management of choral groups.
“But we are going to address this and other problems that affect the developmental process of the choral music industry in the country,” he said.
Maseru City Choral, Mofumahali oa Tlholo and Sekamaneng will each be defending their titles in the gold, silver and bronze sections respectively.