By Stuart Meyer*

Love of the colourful tapestry that life has to offer has led to rewarding experiences such as those of the Membership Secretary of the Johannesburg Bach Choir. From her newfound love for bowls which she began playing after retiring in 2017, to her abiding love for the world-renowned diamond corporate, De Beers, Sue has had an interesting life.

Sue’s love of music – and singing – probably began as a girl. To make the after-dinner dishwashing more fun, Sue and her three sisters sang songs from the FAK (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge) album that they had found in their home. They also sang the odd German folk song. While Sue also sang in her primary school choir, by her teens she was only interested in boys. She’d found new loves. Singing was all but forgotten.

Joining De Beers in 1991 as an executive secretary, Sue made full use of the company’s internal learning and development programme, eventually gaining a degree in human resources management which she put to use managing the company’s bursary scheme. Sue also found training and development, especially of young people, rewarding. Despite the pressure of her roles, Sue’s love for people and learning filled her 25-year career at De Beers with purpose and delight. Her many mentorship, guidance and training activities, usually involving thorough checking of work and performance, earned her the nickname “The Principal”. Her approval was required by all and was never easy to get.

Mostly, though, Sue loved working for what she came to know as an ethical company. De Beers sought, at every turn, to do the right thing. Whether among its employees, the communities it touched, the environment or the country, Sue felt it a privilege to be part of such an effective force for good.

About 10 years ago, leafing through the advertisement section of her local newspaper, Sue spotted an ad asking, Have you ever wanted to sing in a choir? Intrigued, she responded and joined what turned out to be an American gospel music group! She loved it. Here she also heard about Capital Singers, eventually participating in seven different massed concerts in Pretoria. While these choirs re-kindled her love of singing, the logistics of the trips to Pretoria motivated her to look for a choir closer to home. Quite by chance Sue’s sister heard an interview with Tim Roberts, chatting on Classic FM with his characteristic English accent. She “heard” him talking about the “Johannesburg BUCK Choir”. It intrigued her.

She quickly discovered that Tim has an engaging British demeanour, and that BUCK in this context was actually JS Bach and had nothing to do with antelopes. As soon as she could, Sue joined even though had no experience of singing classical music. She loved it from the start. Bowled over by the camaraderie, the professionalism of Tim Roberts and Ruth Coggin’s brilliant teaching, Sue has even learned how to read music!

Classical music — and singing in a choir with various sections doing different things — also demands a level of mental alertness, concentration and discipline that she really enjoys. Sue has also grown to truly appreciate classical music and honestly looks forward to the fun, learning and beauty of Monday night practices. She means it when she says, “thank you for the music, for giving it to me!”

▪ Stuart Meyer sings bass in The Johannesburg Bach Choir

▪ Apart from being membership secretary of the choir, Sue van Zyl sings in the soprano line

▪ Theo Coggin is the editor of The Bach Blog. Please “like” and “subscribe” to our Blog. Send suggestions for contributions, attention Theo, to johannesburgbachchoir@gmail.com