20 Apr 2023

Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete (KTM) Choir requires about P2.3 million in order to compete at the 12th World Choir Games billed for Gangneung, South Korea from July 2-13 this year.

KTM Choir, which would be the only African group in the games, is expected to leave for the world’s largest international choir competition on July 7 and would be in Gangneung for nine days.

This stemmed from a media briefing on preparations for the games where KTM Choir project manager, Charity Semere also revealed that the would not go through the elimination process but only proceed straight to the finale owing to the gold medal they won at the 2019 European Choir Games.

“KTM Choir bagged gold medals in C10 open category and GP10 Grand Prix of Nations category - Folklore with Accompaniment at the European games. This automatically qualified the choir for a place in the 12th World Choir Games finale,” Semere said.

With a hashtag #KTMgoestoKorea2023, she said the Gangneung-bound choir comprised 50 youthful choristers to compete in the Folklore category where they would perform Setswana culture songs with a full culture accompaniment.

“These are the Olympics of the choral music, a final stage that any chorister aspires to perform at,” she added.

On preparations for the World Choir Games, she said KTM Choir had started knocking on doors for sponsorship and any form of assistance that would enable them to participate at the games.

She thanked First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) Foundation which had since come to the party with a P500 000 sponsorship, paving way for other corporates, organisations as well as government. 

For his part, KTM Choir board member, Judge Mookodi explained that the cost for the Gangneung trip however was P2.3 million and therefore appealed for more sponsorship.

Mookodi thanked FNBB Foundation, saying the partnership would take the choir to even greater places.

Unpacking the P500 000 sponsorship, he said KTM Choir would acknowledge FNBB Foundation on their website, social media platforms as well as publications while the merchandise for the trip would also bear the FNBB logo.

Again, he said FNBB Foundation would also display collateral at five KTM concerts, adding “as a choir we will support the bank at five of our events and participate at one of the charity event.”

“The choir exists to groom Botswana youth to be ambassadors of creative culture as well as create livelihoods out of talent,” he said.

FNBB Foundation board of trustees member, Dr Lesedinyana Odiseng said the sponsorship was focal to areas on arts and culture which was one of the six that guided the foundation’s scope.

“We believe that KTM Choir brings value to the nation as it raises awareness on Botswana culture and traditions,” Dr Odiseng. He  thus appealed to other organisations from both private and public sectors to assist the choir in its mission. 

“Efforts of many can truly take the choir to a higher level,” he said.

Meanwhile, celebrating 30 years of existence this year, KTM Choir had reached a stage of maturity and had since been getting international recognition from as far as 1993 when the choir travelled to Missoula, Montana and Atlanta in the US to attend music festivals. Regionally, they have had opportunities to showcase their musical talent in many SADC countries, including among others, performance at South Africa’s Old Mutual National Choir Festival.

“Participating at that level has become normal for KTM. The choir has become a brand and grown as a trendsetter in choral music where it allowed formation of other youth choral choirs,” Mookodi said, adding that they also believed in creating room for others as they emulated them. ends