Prep Marimba Band Takes Second and Third Places at International Competition

The Grade 7 Prep Marimba Band journeyed to compete in the International Marimba and Steelpan Festival, coming away with second and third place prizes. With
over 2000 participants and over 90 schools participating, including schools from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, this is the largest music festival in Africa. In spite of tough competition, our Preppies were exceptional, both in how smart they looked and how they behaved and performed.

The Marimba Band was entered into four different categories which had separate criteria to fulfill. There is a lovely category called ‘In the Mix’. The boys chose to perform ‘Seven Nations Army’ in this category, which allowed Matt Currie to perform on his bass guitar and Connor van der Linde on electric guitar with the marimba band playing alongside them – a marimba-rock band in the making!
We waited in anticipation at the prize giving to hear how the band had fared. The band came second in the ‘Accompanied Primary’ section, where the teacher was allowed to perform with the boys. They came third in the ‘Proudly South African’ section playing ‘The Forge’. It was quite a moment for the boys, the smiles and celebratory congratulations were contagious. Marimba Band Captain, Ethan Meya, received the trophies on behalf of the band.