The percussion ensemble of the West Coast Youth Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2022 Optimist African Championships opening last month.
At the event at Mykonos on Sunday 25 September the ensemble entertained the crowd and regatta participants during the parade with various songs, including “The lion sleeps tonight”, “Africa” (Toto) and a lively djembe number, lending a real South African flavour to the event.
They started playing together only a few months ago, but have already proven they are a formidable group.
They recently achieved cum laude at the Wes-Boland Eisteddfod and won the category hands-down.
The ensemble is led by Marna Smit. A tutor at West Coast Music Academy, she is responsible for the percussion arrangements for the WCYO.
This group is identified by those in the musical world and music aficionados as being well worth watching, if only for their ongoing capacity to surprise and for what the future potentially holds in terms of performance and quality.
