Omaruru Western Youth Choir Performs at Kashana

Omaruru Western Youth Choir (OWYC)
 
Conductor: Roger Nautoro

With a very strong belief and a dream to be an inspiration to many of Omaruru’s Youth to help them improve themselves and their inner discipline, development of their psychological approach to different phrases and challenges in life. Helping them do well in their academic pursuits, because music, as any other intramural activity, can help learners and students achieve new heights by broadening their minds through dealing with notes, pitch, range, musical phrases, intonation, diction, melodies, harmonies, and many other aspects. All of these result in individually making possible transitions through all of these modalities. The choir has also become a platform for unity in diversity. With music we all speak one language and have become one big family engaging in positive nation building activities. We all have one common interest and strive as one to protect it.

It started as a two man effort , Roger Nautoro and Garere Cloete, to share their musical expertise with the youth of Omaruru. It first started as the Omaruru Town Youth Choir with only fifteen young boys and girls from different church affiliations in Omaruru in the Alpha and Omeqa parish from 18th December, 2007.

On 13 October 2009 the name was changed to Omaruru Western Youth Choir which we started with forty-five Choir members at the Ozondje Community Hall. We grew and developed our repetoire with both western, gospel and many of the African genres.
 

Our first performance was a free informal Open Air Concert at the Ozondje Park on 16 October 2009, followed by four formal performances on 11 October at four different Churches, namely: Roman Catholic Church, ELCRN - Alpha & Omeqa Parish, ELCIN and the Pantacostal Christ Embassy . We then had our first concert on Saturday 24th October 2009 at Central Hotel Omaruru, followed by regular concerts and invitations for tourists and the local community at Kashana and Omaruru Game Lodge.

In the history of the Youth of Omaruru especially those from Omaruru Western Youth Choir, we had the most wonderful new-year’s celebration with rehearsals on the 31st December 2009, a Sundowner Concert at Omaruru Game Lodge ending with another performance in the ELCRN Parish for more than a hundred community members who gathered for the year end service.

This year started on a fast pace on 24 January 2010 with sixty-five members, about thirty of whomwere new. We started with a very good spirit where Rev Jermain Tjongarero gave us a very strong spiritual message to start the year with. Our first performance was the following day, Sunday 25th January 2010 at the Prison College of Omaruru, a special invitation by Rev Tjongarero.

The founding aims and objectives of the Omaruru Western Youth Choir are:

•To play a significant role in Omaruru's musical life and to be an ambassador for Omaruru's musical culture.

•Extend the choir member's stylistic versatility and ability.

•Develop inborn musical talents of the choir members.

•Create a platform for our young GOLDEN VOICES to develop discipline, responsibility and professionalism through Choral Singing.

•Introduce choir members to the correct, world developed, modern way of singing.

•Introduce the choir members to basic music theory and teach them to sight read and sing to both Tonic Sol-fa and Staff notations.

•Introduce the choir members to every rehearsal's warming up exercises, vocal techniques, stage etiquette, interpretation of musical pieces, pride and confidence during performances, and much more.

•Introduce the choir and choir members to Western and Spiritual genre as well as African Traditional genre.

•Unite the youth from different socio economical backgrounds in harmony through Omaruru Western Youth Choir.

•Expose the Youth Choir to several important Namibian Choir Conductors on the international music scene and give the choir members the opportunity to hear and learn from the top Namibian youth and school choirs such as the Mascato Coastal Youth Choir and The Martin Luther High School Mass Choir.
 

Today many of these aims and objectives have been positively achieved.
The Choir has grown and is very well known in the vicinity of Omaruru, whereby we are being invited to schools, lodges and churches for performances. The choir members have developed a special affection towards the choir, the music and even among themselves, keeping them away from those social evils, which we all are facing, such as alcohol, drugs and crime.

Official rehearsals are conducted on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the Municipality Council Chamber.

Conductor's Profile.

Roger Nautoro, Matriculated in 2005 from Martin Luther High School of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia.

Graduated in 2008 from the College of the Arts Namibia with a Music as an Applied Art’s Diploma in Performing Arts (APA). Roger has attended Choral workshops by Seth Sharp (2006), The World Youth Choir (2007), Scott Leithead (2009), Prof Petru Grabe (2009), Renette Bouwer (2009), Sidumo Jacobs (2007), with Lectures by Jabulani Moyo (2006 - 2007), Fannie Dorfling (2006), and Benhard Putz (2007). Currently he is enrolled with the Bloemfontein International Choral Centre, South Africa for a diploma course for Choral Directors: Lecturers and Lectures:
• Branko Strac (www.brankostarc.com): Voiceposture - Vocal technique - Expressive Analysis - Vocographics -   Vocology - Singing
•Rudolf de Beer: History of Choral Music - Music Styles - Conducting
•Annemarie van der Walt: Music Theory
•Alida van der Walt: Masterclass for Classical Solo Singing

Roger is the Coordinator of generation.com Namibia: the nickname of the Namibian School Choirs Commission founded in 2006 and has worked with many School Choirs in Namibia, specifically: Concordia College Choir, St. Paul's College Choir, Wennie du Plessis Choir, Epako Junior Secondary School Choir, Otjiwarongo Secondary School Choir, S.I. !Gobs Secondary School Choir, Etosha Port Junior Secondary School Choir, Petrus !Ganeb Secondary School Choir, Khomas High School Choir, Ella du Plessis School Choir, Martin Luther High School Choir and even the Trans-Kalahari Youth Choir.

He is a member of the successful Mascato Coastal Youth Choir (www.mascatoyouthchoir.com) and has had the opportunity to learn from Mrs. Ena Venter, the women he mostly favours and who is an inspiration to Roger in the choral industry. His parent and church choir since 1993 is the Soli Deo Gloria Choir of Namibia which has a strong Christian foundation and a special Lutheran Music genre.

Roger is currently busy with his little Handbook for Choral Directors and Choristers: enitled: ''CHORAL INTERIOR: THEORY AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF CHORAL MUSIC"

Contact Details: P.O. Box 396, Omaruru, Namibia
Cell: xx-264-81-237-6600 or xx-264-81-433-9404
Home - 00264-64-570-398
e-mail: rogeribn@yahoo.com