Bobby Mcferrin in Germany

I have to say that performing on a stage with Bobby Mcferrin made me feel like I had reached my goal in life. At the age of 24 to perform with your idol is quite something and I feel truly blessed to have had the experience.

I recently went to Germany to perform with the Chamber Choir of Europe. The choir is made up of freelance singers from England, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Hungary and South Africa(there were 2 of us!) We spent a few days in Essen rehearsing the music under the direction of the amazing and very special Roger Treece. The music was composed by Roger Treece with some input from Bobby. We started the rehearsal process with some circle songs(songs that are composed on the spot built up section by section and cycled). This was such a beautiful way to start the rehearsals because it felt like it was about the music and the beauty of the music not just learning the notes and getting the job done.

The rehearsal process was very intense, we rehearsed from 10am to 10pm for 3 days . We did our first performance at the Essen Philharmonic concert hall. All of us struggled a little because our voices were so tired from rehearsing so much. But it didn't really matter to me because I was on stage with Bobby Mcferrin and the music was beautiful. The amazing thing about Bobby is that he was very quiet when he was back stage, like the quiet guru, but as soon as he was on stage he just worked the audience in his own humble way. Saying funny things and being the entertainer.

From Essen we all traveled to Munich, 6 hours in a car with a terrible cough was not fun. I probably caught some horrible virus from one of the many choir members who were sick. My voice sounded terrible and I felt like I just wanted to sleep for days. So when I arrived in Munich I went to the doctor and he gave me some medicine that saved me. The next night I was on top form to perform at the Gasteig, The Munich Philharmonic which houses 2600 people and the hall was sold out. Amazing!

This concert was the same as the Essen one but this time I got my chance to sing solo with Bobby. What he does at most of his concerts is asks the audience if anyone wants to sing something with him and then he sings along. This time because he had a choir he asked us and I shot my hand up as quick as I could. I had decided that I wanted to sing a South African song to show people something a little different. I sang a song called Uyandibiza, a beautiful Xhosa song about being called by your ancestors. Of course no one understood the words. Bobby struggled a little to find something to sing along and so it was kind of a solo for me. I didn't care though. I was sitting across from Bobby singing a song that meant a lot to me and even though I was in front of 2600 people it felt like it was just him and me. Very special.

This experience with the choir was very special. It was such a great group of people and it was amazing to meet so many different people from all over Europe. The thing that I will remember though is what Roger Treece told us during a rehearsal. He said that we are so blessed to be performing music that we love in a world filled with hardship and terrible things. He is right. I am so blessed to be a musician and give the gift of enjoyment in a time when joy and love are so important.

Rehearsing with Roger Treece

The Chamber Choir of Europe

The fantastic Roger Treece

Bobby and Me