On the first of January two very special people, with a special link to the Eastern Cape Children's Choir, were married at the Knorhoek Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

The annual Herald Showtime Awards were announced today. We are very proud of our very own conductor's inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

The annual choir camp was held in the form of a two-day 'Boot Camp' at Cillie High School and coincided with the most intense heat wave Port Elizabeth had experienced in a long while!

And so we come to the end of a long and busy year. The choir was busy to the last, with the annual Northwood Hospice Dedication on Wednesday, and the Feathermarket Organ Society's Christmas Concert today. Two wonderful occasions to ensure we start our holiday on the right note. Merry Christmas to all our members, their families and all the ECCC friends. We'll see you early next year!

Today our choristers interrupted their studies for year-end exams to partake in the St Francis Hospice Carols by Candlelight under the direction of famous conductor Richard Cock.

St Cuthberts was exactly the right place to say 'goodbye and thank you' to those choristers for whom other doors will be opening next year. We'll really miss them, but also look forward to getting to know the newly auditioned children as part of the 2012 choir. We know they'll exceed our expectations.

We really had fun in Jeffreys Bay last night, but not in the waves. We were up on the hill in the Jeffreysbaai NG Kerkkompleks with famous South African tenor, Jannie Moolman.

On Saturday, the 22nd, the music department at the NMMU, usually quiet on a Saturday, was abuzz with activity. The ECCC were holding auditions! This year we had only 15 places to fill and competition was tough.

On Sunday the 16th of October orchestral music was taken to a whole new level by the performance of the Zurich Youth Symphony Orchestra in the Feathermarket Centre.

Recently one of the ECCC Choir alumni, Zipho Zokufa, was crowned the Miss NMMU for 2011/2012. Another example of talents that go further than beautiful voices!

Today's EP Herald contained a profile of Mr Van Zyl and his source of inspiration over the past 25 years - none other that the members of the Eastern Cape Children's Choir!

What a wonderful surprise when we opened the newspaper this morning to see that our conductor is a finalist for the EP Herald General Motors Citizen of the Year award for his work with the ECCC. Are we proud, or what?!?!?!?

'Truly Inspiring'! 'I could have been sitting in any of Europe's large cathedrals!' 'The best Prestige Concert Ever!' These were just a few of the comments after, what must truly have been, one of the city's musical highlights of the year.

The Weekend Post published a lovely article about Mr Van Zyl and his past 25 years at the choir. Click on the image to read it.

On Friday, the 29th of July 2011, parents, 2010 alumni and special guests attended the launch of the choir's eighth CD recording.

On Friday the 22nd of July, 65 ECCC choristers will take to the road to bring warmth of the musical kind to the Karoo towns of Cradock and Graaff-Reinet.

Today, whilst listening to the Rev. Mike McCoy of the St Hugh's Anglican Church, I once again realised what an enriching experience our choristers have at the ECCC.

For a choir to reach the status that the ECCC holds, we obviously need very talented voices. Of course we also need experts who can mould these individual voices into a choir that can hold its own on any international stage. That is why we are making quite a fuss of our director, Lionel van Zyl, and his able assistant, accompanist and repetitor, Amanda Engelbrecht, who are both celebrating 25 years with the choir this year.

Our choir's voices really soared at the ECCC's first public performance of the year. Westering High's Voce Volante Choir Festical has become a showcase for the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro's school choirs and this year was no exception. This was a wonderful opportunity for our first years to get rid of their first performance jitters and all bodes well for the rest of the year.

Read the article published by Die Burger in celebration of Mr Van Zyl's 25th year as ECCC conductor.

Last week our conductor, Lionel van Zyl, visited the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School, where he was conductor for 6 years before relocating to Port Elizabeth, during their annual Music in the Mountains Festival where he also conducted a performance of the the Old Boys' Choir.

We are extremely proud of choir alumnus, and current guest soloist, Liske Potgieter, who will be performing her debut solo recital on Sunday 15 May 2011.

Tonight our choristers showed us that their audiences will, this year, be treated to only the best.

Our 2010 tour choir gathered yesterday for a photograph. It was the first opportunity in nearly four months for many of us to see our old friends again and the obvious joy on everyone's faces emphasized the fact that our choir is not merely a vehicle for making music, but one where kindred spirits come together and lifelong friends are made. Sorry, we have a special purpose for this photo, so you will just have to wait and see...

This year we celebrate Lionel van Zyl's 25th anniversary as the ECCC's conductor. Before relocating to Port Elizabeth, he conducted the Drakensberg Boys' Choir, with whom he travelled widely, both nationally and internationally. Here he can be seen conducting them during the inauguration of the Afrikaanse Taal Monument in Paarl, Western Cape, in 1975.

Both the ECjCC and ECCC loved their watermelon treat! Thirsty from rehearsing and tired from the oppressive heat, this fresh treat once again proved a big hit and no fewer than 6 large watermelons disappeared before our eyes! Look out for the photos in our gallery!

This past weekend 80 children came together at the Sumcay campsite near Despatch for the annual ECCC choir camp.

A triumphant Eastern Cape Children's Choir returned from their 10th International Concert Tour to Germany, France and Switzerland, on the 6th of October. 14 Concerts - 14 Standing Ovations. WOW! See our Tour 2010 page and Gallery for more.

The third term is traditionally very busy with performances. Add to that a CD launch and the 10th International Concert Tour and see your head spin!

The choir's seventh CD recording, and first Christmas recording, was unveiled at the PE City Hall tonight. Read more about it on our recordings page. For orders, contact Carol Leonard at 082 672 3343.

We are proud of ECCC member Lara Potgieter, who recently won the primary schools division of the East Cape Youth Music Competition in East London, on the piano. She becomes the third ECCC member to win the competition. while her older sister, and current choir soloist, Liske, won the vocal category in 2007.

Our hearts go out to the 'South African Pavarotti's' family on his untimely passing. Siphiwe was a student of Mr Van Zyl's and performed regularly with the ECCC between 1995 and 1998.

On 30 April 2010 the audience at Voce Volante, presented by Westering High School, was star struck...

A reminder to our choristers that normal rehearsals start on the first Wednesday of the term and are only indicated on the choir calendar in the event of venue or time changes.

In order to maintain our archives we are in the process of transferring all the news from our old website journal to the new website.

Our Ninth International Concert Tour to Germany, Finland and Estonia had a host of highlights.

In the run-up to our 9th International Concert Tour we were not sitting still. The first of the Two Continents Concerts took place as well as our first annual Winter Choir Festival.

A poem in our honour and a national newspaper interview with us as the subject.

We performed The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. Read the story and all about our exciting performance here.

Our choristers are not just accomplished singers, they excel in many other fields as well.

Read about how we sang the National Anthems of South Africa and Australia in front of a packed St George's Park Cricket Stadium and millions of television viewers.

Included in this journal is the full account of the 2006 tour to Germany and the Czech Republic.