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UFS Campus Choirs make a full comeback in 2020

03 January 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied

It has been a noteworthy year for the University of the Free State (UFS) Choir, establishing itself on the student/university choir scene. The choir, based on the Bloemfontein Campus, represented the UFS at the bi-annual KUESTA choir festival earlier this year, showcasing its musical talent. The choir shared a stage with other university choirs from around the country.

The UFS (Bloemfontein Campus) Choir is a 42-member ensemble of students; the other two choirs, based on the South and Qwaqwa campuses, consist of 40 and 62 members respectively. The choirs are administered and managed by the Division of Student Affairs’ Arts, Culture and Dialogue Office. In addition to Kovsie culture, the choirs strive to have a varied repertoire of inclusive music, with the UFS BFN Campus choir performing a diversity of songs in English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, and Sesotho.

The new South Campus choir was established in 2018 and is led by choir director, Bonisile Gcisa, who specialises in choral music. This leg of the choir will therefore perform many of his works, but will also include some of the Bloemfontein choir’s set lists, since most of the choir members will be auditioning in 2021 for the Bfn choir when they change campuses.

The Qwaqwa Campus choir will lean more towards a choral genre under the direction of Sipho Khumalo.

The UFS Bloemfontein Campus choir was officially re-established under the leadership of choir conductor Leona Geldenhuys in March 2018, and has performed at several events, including the Rector’s Concert, the annual KUESTA choir convention, and the Bloemfontein Choir invitational. The group has also held a number of public performances on the Thakaneng Bridge at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

“Part of the UFS Student Affairs’ objective is to create an inclusive and a socially just student lived experience, and that is the mandate the choirs will also adopt. We hope to create an experience that not only enhances our students’ singing abilities, but also contribute to a more inclusive university experience.” – Angelo Mockie – Director: UFS Student Affairs Arts, Culture and Dialogue office.

“Rest well, be safe, and return rejuvenated,” were his parting words to students for the festive season.

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UFS Autumn Graduation inspires perseverance

2015-04-20

Louzanne Coetzee and her guide dog, Oakley after she received her degree at the UFS’s Autumn Graduation.
Photo: Gerhardus Bosch

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Prof Himla Soodyall
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Autumn has seen the UFS’s first graduation ceremonies of the year on the Bloemfontein Campus. From 14 to 17 April 2015, a total of 3 660 graduates were rewarded for their hard work while top speakers addressed them in the Callie Human Centre.

UFS Chancellor, Dr Khotso Mokhele, commented the more than 250 students who passed their degrees with distinctions at the autumn graduation.

Prof Soodyall, a Medical Scientist at the South African Institute for Medical Research as well as Principal Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Service, and Director for the Human Genome Diversity and Disease Research Unit at the University of Witwatersrand delivered the first motivational message of the April Graduation. The group of graduates in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences listened as she shared her story with them.

"My own career – with no grand design or script – steered me into conducting genetic research on human populations from sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on a better understanding of human evolution, and to reconstruct the prehistory of African populations. While giving graduates a glimpse on how her career progressed, Prof Soodyall said: "I share these stories with you to give you some reassurance that you do not need feel that you have to figure out every minute detail of where to from here. Things fall into place with hard work, dedication, and dreams.

The developed world is forging ahead with interventions, so the gap between the developed world and the developing world continues to grow bigger. Prof Soodyall said: “You have the unenviable opportunity to think strategically, and to use the modern tools in your respective fields to make significant advances to transform our society, and to contribute to making it a better place for all. We need to embrace the current challenges, and build networks and bridges across disciplines to close the gaps, to work beyond the cultural barriers, and to ensure equity in access to health, water, education, etc, for all, as we would wish these things for ourselves and our families.

Read the full story of the Autumn Graduation 2015

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