Award-winning South African gospel choir with worldwide following to perform at Wharton
The Soweto Gospel Choir has been around for 20 years and Shimmy Jiyane (Gee-Ani) has been with the Internationally famous performing group since the beginning.
“I was one of several people who started the group out of a desire to celebrate the heritage of South Africa," Jiyane said. "There are so many different faiths and cultures in South Africa that we wanted to show them to the world.”
In the '50s and '60s, the only South African music widely known in the United States was from folk singer Miriam Makeba.
But in 1998, Paul Simon came out with “Diamonds on The Soles of Her Shoes” featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a male, South African singing group. And, of course, Disney’s “The Lion King” was a worldwide sensation, which is still playing on Broadway.
Jiyane says that Ladysmith is not comparable to Soweto Gospel Choir.
“We are very different from Ladysmith Black Mambazo," Jiyane said. "We have dancing, distinctive costumes and on-stage drums, keyboard and music.”
Also, they have women. Soweto has 11 female and 10 male singers. And even though SGC is called a gospel choir, it sings a broad variety of styles − traditional pop, spirituals, African gospel, folk music and reggae.
The choir now has a huge worldwide audience and has won three Grammy awards, appeared in concert with many artists, provided the music for movies and performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.
They have always considered themselves to be ambassadors of Nelson Mandela’s “Proud to Be” campaign. And today, Jiyane says that much of their music is spiritual and political in nature.
Throughout his life with the choir, Jiyane has served as the choir master, choreographer, and lead singer.
“The key to our success is our sound,” he says. “It’s unique. We sing a capella and with accompaniment and with many languages. We even sing the Xhosa language, known for its clicking sound.”
The choir travels about 11 months a year and it has millions of dedicated fans.
“Throughout our 20 years, we haven’t changed the way we sound," Jiyane says. "We protect the sound. It’s familiar to our audiences and to our fans. We sing the same in all of the various countries we perform.
“We get amazing responses from all over the world.”
When the SGC performs, the audience is overwhelmed by the smiles, enthusiasm and colorful costumes. It’s all part of their mission.
“We encourage people from all over the world to love one another and collaborate with one another," he said. "When the group was first formed, we were surprised by how the audience responded to our performances.
“We prayed a lot, because we felt that our success was a blessing from God.”
IF YOU GO
Who: Soweto Gospel Choir
Where: Wharton Center, Great Hall
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22
Tickets: From $21 at whartoncenter.com, 517 432 2000
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Soweto Gospel Choir to perform at Wharton Center on Saturday
