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26 November 2020
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Story Leonie Bolleurs
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Mind Matters is a first for the UFS. It is a mental-health publication for students aimed at highlighting what matters most when it comes to your mind, life, and well-being. Some sections share how individuals in the top echelons of the UFS take care of their minds. Other sections focus on how to support your grey matter (i.e. your brain) and, consequently, improve your general functioning. Some parts discuss matters related to careers, well-being, finance, and self-development. We also provide news and resources that might matter to you.
Whatever your fancy, Mind Matters focuses primarily on why the health of your mind matters. Our minds and brains are the most powerful intelligence or apparatuses on the planet. A power like this needs to be wielded wisely, otherwise we may suffer much from our own neglect of our mental health. It’s not always easy, but it is important!
Mind Matters was possible due to the cumulative contributions, inputs, and work of numerous UFS professionals, especially within
Student Affairs. We are grateful and proud of each person involved. We endeavour to honour these efforts by continually improving and developing Mind Matters. Your feedback and voices are most welcome and will continue to inform what we do next.
Free State University Choir wins competition in Prague
2009-12-15
This past weekend, the Free State University Choir, under the directorship of Mr Corné van Pletzen, won the Christmas Music Festival Competition in Prague in the Czech Republic. 25 choirs from amongst others Spain, Hungary, Slovakia and Russia also participated in the competition.
It is the first time in the 10 years that the Christmas Music Festival Competition is presented that an overall winner of the festival and the competition was announced.
The choir originally only participated in the festival part of the Christmas Music Festival. Later, at the end of the competition, they were asked by the judges to prepare a song for the prize-giving ceremony, not knowing that the judges were judging them for the competition.
Mr Van Pletzen said, “Finally, after all prizes had been handed out, a trumpet fanfare announced the Free State University Choir as the overall winner of the competition. Our choir was also requested to close the competition with a song; that we did, whereupon our students sang the National Anthem with pride and with tears in their eyes.
The choir’s presentation was unique as they included a great variety of songs in their programme, amongst others some of Mr Van Pletzen’s own compositions and a song from Africa, Wana Baraka.
According to Mr Van Pletzen, six of the choirs obtained more than 90% during the competition. The Free State University Choir was however overwhelmed with positive feedback on the standard of their presentation from the audience, other participating choirs as well as the judges.
Most of the 38 choir members have already been members of this choir for three years now and this is the third time that most of them are singing overseas.
They will bring home a beautiful glass trophy. |
Mr Corné van Pletzen. |