Monday, 19 January 2015

Garden Of Talent


Lesedi Gospel Choir: A garden of talent

Within townships all across South Africa. There is a lot of undiscovered musical talent amongst the youth. While most of the talent remains undiscovered, due to the talented individuals being unable to find a platform to showcase their abilities. Some do find such platforms through the art of choirs. Choirs provide a platform for talents to be developed and they keep youths away from trouble, while providing wonderful music to the community. One choir being celebrated for its unique development structures and musical style, is “Lesedi Gospel House" (LGH).

Formed in 2007 by Bongani Mnisi and Fikile Makume. LGH was formed after Bongani’s departure from a church choir. His departure was the result of having a different vision of what a choir should be like, and wanting to move away from the traditional musical styles of choirs. LGH lives by the idea that “gospel music can change the lives of many within the community”. This idea drives the delivery in their music which features choreography, clap & tap, and remixed songs from popular artists. The impact of their performance is so breath-taking. One would assume they were attending a John Legend concert.

Their music is a result of creative conductors. With LGH the conductor is selected based on a criteria. A conductor at LGH should be a leader, who not only provides technical instructions to the cooperative group, but also be able to motivate singers, provide feedback, and express the pleasure of music in a unique and energetic manner. If the criteria is met by an individual. He/she is appointed the role of a conductor.

The most positive aspect about LGH is the fact that it does not discriminate anyone from their gender, race, religious beliefs, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disabilities.  It promotes the use of different languages in their music, including English, IsiZulu, Sotho, Tsonga, and Tshivenda. This diversity opens the possibilities of attracting a larger audience. Religious beliefs are also not an obstacle to many because LGH caters for all religions. Their music features songs from the Apostolic church, Zion church, traditional gospel, house music and jazz, just to name a few.


Several years into their existence. LGH is changing lives and giving hope, while providing entertainment within communities. It has also inspired many choirs with their style and presentation on stage. As Lesedi we live by the Motto. “We have chosen change”, so we hope to see that change reach every corner of the globe.

10 comments:

  1. This is the beggining of great things. Let's shown the world that change demands no money, positive lifestyle is not a stage but a decision. It is not dependent on your financial status but rather on the decision you make individually...

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  2. I must come watch this choir one day

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  3. Effort, time and money should be invested in such uplifting platforms, it does not only discover and develop the different talents, but also keeps the youth off the streets and away from the bad influence. I'd also love to see LGH do their thing some day

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  4. It is with time and effort that such deeds may prevail. We will keep on keeping on until something shows up. We are growing in number and more and more talent flocks in to our garden. We hope we could find sponsorship on day, or just someone who can see our vision and help us reach more youth in need. Thanks for the comments guys...

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  5. True,by reading this,,,they are really good,I have no doubt that they are also good when performing,,LGH I would like to see them turning it on,

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  6. Honestly speaking I'm not a fan but because u friend of mine then I have no choice but to support u, this group is so awesome u should tell me whenever they're staging so that I can attend the event, they're really good.

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  7. Its always refreshing to see young kids taking something old and traditional and flipping it to fit them.

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  8. Thanks very much. We have nothing more in our agenda but just to push boundaries and challenge ourselves to doing the impossible. We don't believe when elders say "We are the lost generation". Infact we believe this is the time for us t put SA on the map, not for Apartheid or Violence nor do we want to be under Madiba's shadow. But we want to have our unique sound and style that is pure to the point that there will be no need to define ourselves in the continent. This is all good and great but without your support we are nothing... Thank you very much your comments are a building block

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  9. This is a very good initiative. What a great way to not only bring the youth together but also to show off their talents. Very inspiring.

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  10. Strength lies in differences, not similarities... Hence I salute those who chose to make a difference.

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