About Us

The South Cape Children’s Choir is a proud product of the International Children’s Choir Movement that began in the 1800’s when girls were accepted into boys’ cathedral choirs for the first time, and reached our shores in 1967 with the founding of the Pretoria Children’s Choir.

There are currently approximately 15 children’s choirs active in South Africa, including the Tygerberg, Cape Town, Eastern Cape, Cantare, Erkhurhuleni, Jakaranda Magaliesburg, Kimberley and Bloemfontein Children’s Choirs.

Owing to need for the development of a culture of music in the Southern Cape in the 1990’s, the South Cape Music Academy (SCMA) was founded by Prof. Wynand Mouton, Dr Dries du Toit, Freude du Toit, Prof. Willie v.d. Westhuizen, John Theodore, Dr Ronel van Aswegen and Louis van Rooyen. 

At this stage Andries van Schalkwyk, principal at Outeniqua Primary School, (previously chairman of Eastern Cape Children’s Choir) was already busy forming a regional choir in the Southern Cape, and combined forces with the SCMA to establish one of the Garden Route’s best cultural export products.

Naomi Koekemoer (Park Primary School, Mossel Bay) was the founding conductor, followed by Amanda Hattingh (Outeniqua Primary School, George) and Susan Hattingh. Jan-Erik Swart became conductor in 2007 and has served as its current conductor for the past 18 years.

The choir had its debut concert in the Dias Maritime Museum, Mossel Bay, on 8 November 1996, with Gé Korsten as the guest artist.

The SCCC has toured England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Latvia, and has won the World Choir Games Open category for Musica Sacra, cum laude at the Europees Muziekfestival voor de Jeugd, the KKNK Kanna Prize for best musical production (with Chris Chameleon) and has won the ATKV Animato Competition finals for regional choirs several times.

The SCCC has performed with some of the best choirs in the world and has shared the stage with artists like Dana Winner, the World Youth Choir, Coenie de Villiers, Joshua ná die Reën, Jannie du Toit and many more.