The Soweto Gospel Choir will appear in Tenerife as part of the third Canaries Gospel Festival 2008. Performances will be in Teatro Leal on 4 December, and in the Arona Auditorium on 7 December.
The Choir has been going for five years, and has three albums and two grammys from the last two awards ceremonies to its name. Its 26 members come from Johannesburg, and they are the most outstanding vocalists from the South African gospel church choirs.
The Choir's activities are not just musical, but are connected with various social projects, and it acts as ambassador for Nelson Mandela's 46664 Foundation to raise awareness of AIDS. The Choir has, moreover, formed its own Foundation under the name of Vukani, a zulu word which can be translated as "come on, do something!". It aims to raise funds to provide food, clothes and medicines for orphan families in Soweto.
Its musical performances, however, are spectacular, with choral and percussion music uniting with traditional dance and gorgeous scene-setting: the most authentic of the rich African culture mixed with north-American spirituals and contemporary music. Singing
a capella or accompanied, their voices, their energetic and vibrant dances, together with colourful clothing, make for an absolutely amazing spectacle.
The songs are in 8 of the 11 official South African languages, and since its inception, the Choir has been singled out for international acclaim. They have shared the stage with Bono, Queen, Peter Gabriel, Anastacia, Jimmy Cliff and the Eurythmics. In June of this year, they appeared in a Hyde Park macroconcert to celebrate Nelson Mandela's birthday, sharing the stage there with Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Eminem, Joan Báez, Amaral, Papa Bemba and Will Smith, among others.
Information about the performances in Tenerife is available from the
CajaCanarias tickets website, and tickets are between 5€ and 10€.
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Soweto Gospel Choir to appear in Tenerife in December 
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