MEET THE VOXIES - S1: Hanni van Zyl Beyers
Meet our Spectacular Soprano: Hanni van Zyl Beyers #Vox_Tribe
Q: What is your day job? A: I’m a mother to two red-headed teenage boys. I also work as a freelance document editor, translator and transcriber.
Q: How many years have you been singing in a choir? A: 28 years.🥳
Q: What has been your most memorable experience with Vox to date? A: Having the privilege to sing in a mass in the Basilica San Marco in Venice. We sang there as part of our Vox tour to Europe in 2019. To be able to sing Franco’s "Missa Brevis 'San Marco'" in a building that has existed since the year 1094 was an unforgettable experience. Listen to it here:
Q: What do you enjoy the most about being part of Vox? A: Being able to truly be myself and be fully accepted by a group of people who I can make wondrous music with. Sometimes the most beautiful and intimate parts of choral singing happen in a rehearsal and these moments are almost transcendental.🤩
Q: Which piece is your favourite that you have performed with Vox Chamber Choir? A: Impossible to answer, but I guess I’ll have to try … “Ek sal sterf en na my Vader gaan” - a setting by our conductor, Franco Prinsloo of the famous poem by Breyten Breytenbach - first came across my path in 2019. We sang it again last year in the “Breytenbach Sentrum” in Wellington. This building was where Breyten Breytenbach lived and where his father had a boardinghouse. It was an unforgettable experience to sing this work inside the building that we sing about in the work itself. Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/r8fdjfODlbc Q: What do you look forward to the most with Vox Chamber Choir? A: I’m looking into the future a bit, but I am really looking forward to see what Franco does with the third oratorio in his "Trilogy of Oratoria", “Kroon van Wonders”. I’m also very much looking forward to performing “Kruis van Liefde” live for a large audience for the first time and sharing it with the world. Do you have your tickets? Q: In which Vox-Tet (our octets) are you? A: The champions “Die Helige Hildegard Harmoniste” (Team Red❤️) - current holders of the “Jahno Oberholzer wisseltrofee” and proud winners of the 2023 #Vox_Pottjiekos_Competition at our Vox Camp.
Q: If you could have a superpower, what would it be? A: Definitely to be able to teleport myself and everyone and everything holding on to me anywhere I want in an instant. Taking two boys to school and back every morning and afternoon in the rain and during loadshedding just isn’t my idea of time well spent.
Q: What are you reading/binge watching at the moment: 1. Reading - The Profiler Diaries by Gérard Labuschagne; 2. Watching - Rewatching all the previous episodes of Black Mirror on Netflix. Q: Name another hobby/interest you participate in? A: I play the piano, listen to audiobooks or podcasts while colouring or being creative and know the lyrics to almost every animated Disney movie ever made. Q: Name a section in "Kruis van Liefde" that gives you goosebumps every time: A: Movement "XVI. Vrou, kyk daar is u Seun.” As a mother myself, I find this piece of music incredibly emotional and touching when Mary sings about her Son “Ag Kind wat ek nie mag verpleeg of troos nie.” Viewing the crucifixion of Jesus from Mary’s point of view, and especially being a mother myself, I cannot imagine the pain she must have gone through seeing her Son in so much pain but not being able to do anything about it. This movement is truly hauntingly beautiful. Listen to it here:
Get your tickets for 15 March, Kruis van Liefde, live at NG Universiteitsoord, Pretoria here. You do not want to miss this magical choral experience: https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/kruis-van-liefde-vox-chamber-choir Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? A: I would like to visit the Chengdu Panda Base in China to observe giant pandas closely in their natural habitat.🐼 📸 Photo Credit: The beyond amazing, Yolandi Jacobsz - Loci Photography Conductor and Composer of the Vox Chamber Choir: Franco Prinsloo Composer/Conductor
