DHPS musicians shine at Cape Town orchestra meet

On 10 March, the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek (DHPS) school orchestra travelled full of anticipation to Cape Town for the 2024 orchestra meeting with this year's theme, 'Out of this World'.

Our Namibian school orchestra played together with the school orchestras from the German schools in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. They had a lot of fun, although it was, of course, a little problematic at the beginning.

Everyone was at a different level and the musicians first had to get to know each other. However, making music together generally went well and the learners were able to learn from each other.

The participants also enjoyed some time off, visiting the beach, the Waterfront and some went hiking.

The next morning, participants played in their respective instrument groups.

Thanks to the friendly teachers, they immediately felt at home and learnt a lot of new skills.

The teachers were committed, and they also demanded a lot from the musicians.



Creating musical bonds

In the afternoon, they played together as a large orchestra. The successful conductor, Chad Hendricks, led the orchestra. With his help, the young musicians were able to perform together successfully.

On Friday, the orchestra held a concert, which they had been working towards all week. The participants described this experience as impressive and different from the concerts in the smaller school orchestras.

The last concert was a highlight and underscored how much the musicians had learnt during the week.

The performance brought the musicians together and when they said goodbye the next day, it didn't feel as if they had only met seven days ago – it felt as if they had known each other all their lives.