By RANGANAI DZOTIZEI at Chisipite,Harare
Cranborne, receiving the First price award
Cranborne RRW choir exerted their dominance in the United Methodist Church Harare East District RRW Music Festivals held at Chisipite when they made a clean sweep of the two trophies up for grabs in the Group A category.
In the Group B Damafalls came first in the set piece section and second in the own choice while Domboramwari scooped first prize in the own choice came second best on the set piece song.
See results table at the end of the story.
The top three choirs will proceed to the conference finals to be staged in Mutare on June 21.
The day was a remarkable event of praise and worship as 17 choirs from both urban and rural settings converged at the spacious venue to praise the Lord Almighty through song.
Of huge significance at the festivals was the immaculate dressing exhibited by the choirs as they wore dresses of different colours emblazoned with the Ebenezer Convention logo as the church geared up for the much anticipated event to be held at the iconic National Sports Stadium on August 15-17.
It was quite symbolic of the period the church is in and the atmosphere was all Ebenezer it was virtually the signature password for the event.
Kick starting the event was a teachings sermon by Rev. R. Nyakuengama who extracted his reading from Psalms 150 which implores on people to praise God for everything he has done for us through song.
Rev. R. Nyakuengama encouraged the church to safeguard the values church founder John Wesley stood for when it came to issues of praising God through song by consistently singing hymnal songs and teaching generations of tomorrow so that the legacy continues.
“John Wesley said in 1761 that we must learn to sing these hymn songs before we sing other choruses. Sing as they are written. Sing with vigour, power and with dignity. Sing with confidence different from how you sing secular songs. Keep time while singing and don’t lag behind. Sing in the spirit of God and look up to Him. Listen to those who are leading in singing. Know the purposes why you are singing and lets your hearts be uplifted as you sing,” he quoted Wesley’s words as he used the vernacular Shona.
He said the essence of the music festivals must be to maintain and guard jealously the culture of singing synonymous with the United Methodist Church.
With the sermon having being delivered, it was time for the real business to start and two rural choirs battled it out for supremacy in the rural category with both taking turns to win either of the two categories.
The Group B Category took to the stage first followed by the Group A Category with a strong field of 15 choirs on display and what a display the RRW choirs dished out as they showed tremendous oomph and vigour as they gave their pieces.
An interesting moment came when the Chisipite RRW Choir added colour on their own choice when they put emphasis on their song Tora Zita Rake Jesu by displayed torches to signify Jesus as the light of the world.
After a compelling contest, Cranborne RRW Choir showed why they are such a dominant force in the district as their 70 plus strong choir powered their way to top honours, clinching first prize in both the set piece and own choice sections.
The choir impressed the adjudicators with their presentations and choreography as they laced the set piece with their own choice entitled Mazwi Akanakisa
Greendale and Chisipite did the same in both categories, coming second and third in both categories respectively.
Cranborne pocketed $70 and $50 in the set piece and own choice categories accompanied by floating trophies while Greendale got $60 and $40 respectively.
Chisipite went home $50 and $30 richer in either of the categories.
The church went a step further when they recognised women’s variety in skills with a sewing competition also running concurrently with the music festivals with prizes given to outstanding women in the throw over and table cloth categories.
The day belonged to Cranborne who retained the titles they won last year to cap a marvelous day blessed with the melodious voices from the RRW whose theme song was Baba Wangu Tinoimba.
In attendance was the District Superintendent Rev Tsitsi Madziyire who officiated in the giving out of prizes to the winners and circuit pastors who cheered on their circuits during the course of the music extravaganza.
Event Pictures
Greendale receiving second prize award
Chisipite receiving Third prize award
RESULTS TABLE – Group A
|
Circuit |
Own Choice Piece – Position |
Set Piece – Position |
|
Cranborne |
1 |
1 |
|
Greendale |
2 |
2 |
|
Chisipite |
3 |
3 |
|
Sunningdale |
6 |
4 |
|
St. Pauls – Harare |
5 |
5 |
|
Hatfield |
4 |
6 |
|
Ruwa |
8 |
7 |
|
Tafara |
7 |
8 |
|
Waterfalls |
9 |
9 |
|
Zimre Park |
10 |
10 |
|
Prospect |
15 |
11 |
|
Mabvuku |
11 |
12 |
|
Windsor |
14 |
13 |
|
Mainway Meadows |
13 |
14 |
|
Msasa Park |
12 |
15 |