Recapturing The African Native Choir performances of 130 years ago

Over 130 years ago, from 1891 to 1893, a group of young African singers travelled by boat to perform in Britain, Canada, and America.

The ensemble, named The African Native Choir, was a group of 14 young men and women, and two children, from South Africa, then under British rule. Their repertoire consisted of Western classical music, as well as South African Indigenous music. Inspired by only a handful of photographs from that tour, Broken Chord tells the story of this extraordinary expedition through music and dance.

Using traditional Xhosa and contemporary dance styles alongside atmospheric soundscapes to thread together personal stories of South Africa’s first Black choir, internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and performer Gregory Maqoma joins forces with composer and musical director Thuthuka Sibisi to tell the story of the 19th century South African choir that toured the world in the 1890s, revealing a drama of global dimensions.

Maqoma and a quartet of vocalists from South Africa are joined on stage by That Choir, one of Toronto’s most exciting a cappella ensembles, together interweaving the worlds of music and dance to explore identity, memory, and the stories of the colonized and the colonizers.

Born in Soweto in 1973, Gregory Maqoma became interested in dance in the late 1980s to escape the political tensions growing

in his place of birth. He started his formal dance training in 1990 at Moving Into Dance where he became the associate artistic director in 2002.

Maqoma has established himself as an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher, director, and scriptwriter. He founded Vuyani Dance Theatre in 1999 when he was undertaking a scholarship at the Performing Arts Research and Training School (PARTS) in Belgium under the direction of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.

Thuthuka Sibisi’s musical education began at the world-renowned Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School where his passion for performance was born. He subsequently went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Music at Stellenbosch University in 2011. He is a graduate of the MA (performance making) program at Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom.

Thuthuka has toured extensively, performing throughout South Africa as well as Asia and South America.

Currently in their 15th season, That Choir is one of Toronto’s most exciting professional a cappella ensembles, combining high-calibre performance with storytelling through choral music. Founded in 2008 by Artistic Director Craig Pike, That Choir now draws together close to twenty singers with diverse backgrounds in culture, work, and study. Each season, That Choir presents a three-concert series of contemporary choral works and undertakes a range of professional development projects.

That Choir has toured nationally appearing at Canada’s national choral music festival, Podium; as featured guest artists at MusicFest Canada in Ottawa; and on a provincial tour of both Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Broken Chord is presented by TO Live: Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts’ Bluma Appel Theatre for three performances only, March 9 to 11, 2023. Tickets are now on sale and available at www.tolive.com, by phone at 416-366-7723 & 1-800-708-6754, or by email at boxoffice@tolive.com.