Tag Archives: Music

Kathy Whiteley

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From “permission-of-husband-required” to JBC chair

By Helen Grange

It was the sublime, evocative voice of the late, great Kathleen Ferrier that struck awe into the young Kathy Whiteley. All she wanted was to sing like her.

“I asked my mother, did I sing like Kathleen Ferrier, the mezzo-soprano? Her reply was, ‘you are more a messy soprano’,” smiles Kathy.

It’s no accident that Ferrier was well known to the young Kathy; she grew up in England where the famous singer’s voice was often heard on the radio. At the age of eight, Kathy joined the local church choir and sang in it for six years. “It was very small – two young sopranos and two older ladies. We sang Evensong every Sunday.”

In 1964, Kathy and her first husband emigrated to South Africa. It was a long journey, especially for a woman six months pregnant. “We flew for 33 hours, starting at Southend (Essex, UK) to Basel (Switzerland) to Tripoli (Libya) to Kano (Nigeria) to Brazzaville (Congo) and finally, to Jan Smuts (Johannesburg).”

Kathy raised her three children before joining another choir, this time in Germiston where the Whiteleys had settled. “My two eldest sang in the junior choir at Germiston Presbyterian church and I was asked to lead the youngsters. This led to me singing in the senior choir in the evening.”

Kathy and Stephen Whiteley who now live in Mpumalanga. Kathy was the first woman to fill the post of chairperson in the Johannesburg Bach Choir.

She met Stephen, her husband, at the Presbyterian church, and after they married, they left to join the Anglican church. “We joined the Royal School of Church Music and went to their annual choir schools. This helped me with my sightreading, and I passed Trinity College Grade 4 singing.”

She and Stephen joined the Johannesburg Bach Choir together in 1983. Kathy was a first soprano, later to become JBC chairperson, and Stephen was a tenor, later becoming a tenor leader. Back then, married women were not yet their own agents in conservative South Africa’s polite society.

“We were auditioned by Dr Eberhardt Kűnkel, who refused to tell me if I had passed until he had auditioned my husband. He told me he would not accept one member of a married couple without the other, because it was a social event. I couldn’t sightread at that stage, but took up piano playing at the age of 40 to learn how to do so,” says Kathy.

At the time, the choir was performing large-scale choral works in the Johannesburg City Hall by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, accompanied by a full orchestra. Membership was around 100 singers. Kathy was appointed to the chair in 2005 and held the seat until 2008.

One of her more unpleasant duties in this capacity was to give notice to the then choir director, Walter Butt, who had decided that instead of working with the JBC committee to boost membership, Wits music students should supplement the numbers. This didn’t go down well with the older members and it was decided that Butt should leave.

“It fell to me to hand over the letter, but Stephen volunteered to do it.  Mr Butt stormed out of the choir rehearsal and he had to be called back to receive the letter. One woman came back into the venue and cried, ‘Kathy, what have you done?’ I answered that the committee decided Butt had to go to save the choir.

“Our old friend and former music director, Colin Yorke, agreed to take on the choir and its remnants met at St Columbia’s church in Parktown. There were 25 members present and Colin was very gentle with us. Gradually old members returned and new members joined,” she recalls.

Kathy and Stephen left the choir in 2008 when they retired to Sabie, Mpumalanga. They miss the choir terribly.

  • This article is written by Helen Grange, a member of the soprano section of the choir. The Bach Blog is edited by Theo Coggin. Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to our Blog.

Diane Coutts

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Six conductors and 60 years: Memories abound for Diane Coutts

By Marlene Ross

The Johannesburg Bach Choir has been associated with some of South Africa’s most talented musicians during the past 60 years. Diane Coutts, who has performed with the Johannesburg Bach Choir as organist, pianist and harpsichordist, twice received the SABC Artes award for best piano recordings and has also received lifetime achievement awards from the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT). Diane’s association with the Johannesburg Bach Choir goes back to the 1990s. She still accompanies the choir for rehearsals on an ad hoc basis.

Diane Coutts: Pianist, organist and harpsichordist extraordinaire

Born in Durban, Diane studied piano, organ and flute. Her organ tutor was Errol Slater, who was the organist at St Paul’s Church in central Durban. At one of her piano performances in Durban she was noticed by Ivey Dickson, a professor at the London Royal Academy of Music and the director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She invited Diane to study in London from 1965 to 1966.

On returning to South Africa, she was appointed as the SABC accompanist for Natal in 1970. In 1979 she was transferred to Johannesburg as the official SABC accompanist and as member of the National Symphony Orchestra of the SABC. Diane prefers accompaniment to solo work, because it provides her with the opportunity to share her love of music with other musicians. She explains that in duo work in particular, one is able to share ideas on interpretation with fellow musicians. She has accompanied many contestants at the Unisa International Strings Competitions as well as the Unisa International Voice Competitions, including the winner of the Unisa International Strings Competition in 2010.

Referring to her many piano recordings, Diane explains that she prefers “leaving a recording as a legacy as opposed to playing in live concerts, which is just a fleeting moment in time”. As an introvert, she feels it also better suits her personality.

Apart from her work at the SABC, she also examined for Unisa and was juror for many music competitions. Diane has many qualifications in teaching, accompaniment and performance for organ, piano and flute. Her students excel in their examinations, many of them winning Unisa awards. She is still teaching and has adapted to the post-Covid online teaching and examination methods with aplomb.

In 2019, after serving the Catholic Church as organist for 60 years, she received an award from Pope Francis. Diane is still the organist at St Bonifatius German Speaking Catholic Church in Randburg.

Diane has performed with the Johannesburg Bach Choir as organist, pianist and harpsichordist with six resident conductors – Bruno Peyer, Douglas Reid, Roland Solomon, Colin Yorke, Dario Broccardo and Tim Roberts. Highlights of her performances with the Choir include playing the harpsichord solo part in the Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 5 on a locally built harpsichord for its inaugural performance, as well as the challenge of playing the Mozart Requiem on the organ, in place of a full orchestra.

Diane remains an inspiration to her students and fellow musicians and the Johannesburg Bach Choir is very proud that she is part of the choir’s journey.

Leipzig Bachfest congratulations

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The Johannesburg Bach Choir is delighted to receive a letter of congratulations on its 60th anniversary celebrations from the Leipzig Bachfest and the Bach Archive Leipzig. The Leipzig Bachfest is the world’s most significant Bach festival, attracting choirs from throughout the globe. We are honoured to be congratulated in this way. The letter is below.

Buck any difficulty with Bach and just love life

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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.

Sue van Zyl with a modern version of the FAK (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge) book from which she and her sisters sang as youngsters. (Photo by Theo Coggin)

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

Sue Webster

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‘Music won the cause’

By Alastair Findlay*

On entering Sue Webster’s sunny abode one is immediately struck by her collection of beautiful artefacts. A Sydney Carter oil, a Pierneef water colour, and works by her uncle, David Anthony Jones (reminiscent of the works of John Piper and Paul Nash) adorn the walls. Along the windowsills there’s an assortment of decoy ducks and wooden bird sculptures.

“I’m a collector,” says Sue, “and my late husband, Bill, was a minimalist. An interesting dynamic.”

Sue’s mother died young and so she was raised by her aunt, Connie Kinghorn whose son, David, became something of a brother and mentor to Sue.

As a girl in her late teens, she could only yearn to do the wonderful things Dave was doing. He had joined the Johannesburg Bach Choir, something quite out of her reach as sight reading music was a prerequisite. It was a time when one’s auditions were reviewed in the city’s newspapers. Whenever Dave left the house, she would ask, with burning curiosity, “Where are you going, Dave?”

“I’m going out,” would be his lofty reply.

Sue (pictured with her dog Teddy) qualified as a medical technologist and worked with Jemima Cantrell in Braamfontein for many years. Her husband was an electrical engineer. They had two children, and she now has four grandchildren.

She became a member of St Paul’s Anglican Church choir in Parkhurst and became deeply involved with all aspects of the parish. She has been running the fundraising charity shop for many years and also qualified as a lay minister and counsellor with Anglicare. She partnered with Rosebank police station in offering trauma counselling and is currently giving psychological and spiritual support to the elderly at Deansgate Retirement Village in Craighall Park.

When her husband died eight years ago, she joined the Johannesburg Bach Choir, encouraged to do so by Anne Kohler. Sue had always shown an aptitude for singing and had a good ear. Besides, one could take an audition without running the risk of a bad review in the papers.

After being a member for four years, a wonderful opportunity was announced. The choir had been invited to sing at the Bachfest in Leipzig! Sue saw this as a chance to do an extended tour after the Bachfest and put together an itinerary for herself that included going to St Petersburg, sailing up the Volga to Moscow and flying on to Istanbul.

And then, the arrangements completed, the calamitous Covid lockdown occurred. The tour was sadly cancelled.

Despite this potential death knell to the performing arts, the Johannesburg Bach Choir kept going. Every Monday evening the choir director, Tim Roberts, would drive to accompanist Ruth Coggin’s house, and from there the rehearsals continued via Zoom. Enthusiasm and dedication carried the choir through these challenging times. Since then, Sue has seen the choir grow in strength and diversity with many strong voices joining – including a growing number of younger people from all walks of life. She has also since become the leader of the soprano section.

“Music and singing is good for the brain,” says Sue, “It keeps those synapses firing and dementia at bay.”

Alastair Findlay is leader of the bass section of the choir.

The Bach Blog is the official blog of the Johannesburg Bach Choir and is edited by Theo Coggin. The headline for this article is taken from the lyrics of Handel’s The Many Rend the Skies which is among the choir’s repertoire.

Reiner Fossati

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Marriage it shall be: the many faces of Bach choir rehearsals

By Lucia Poorter*

Reiner Fossati, who was a member of the choir from 1983 until around 2019, and chairman for seven years, grew up in a musically-minded family in Cape Town, listening to classical greats such as Beethoven and Brahms.

“I also liked Mozart but always considered Beethoven two or three notches above him,” he says.

Reiner (above), who holds a doctorate in operations research and teaches additional maths for grades 10, 11 and 12 at the Johannesburg German International School, says he taught himself to read music at the age of seven or eight. “I was fascinated by anything that could be written down.”

He sang in the choir at the German School in Cape Town from the age of 10, and later, after moving to Johannesburg, was persuaded by a friend who was with him in the army to join the Randburg Male Voice Choir in 1979. In 1983, he responded to an advert in The Star for the Johannesburg Bach Choir.

Reiner remembers the choir having well over 100 members and singing two of his favourite works, Mahler’s Symphony No 2 and the Brahms Requiem, which he says “are both highly romantic.” The Mahler symphony also has “an incredible range for the basses. There is something sublime and kind of spiritual when the whole thing comes together.”

Other favourite compositions of his include Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, and the big Mozart pieces.

Ken Fuller, who was chairman of the choir for more than 20 years, worked opposite the Johannesburg City Hall where the choir often performed, and was therefore usually able to pop across to check that everything was in order before concerts. However, in 1994, after his retirement, and what was to be the last time the choir ever performed in the City Hall, there was a mishap.

“There were supposed to be something like 29 rows of 36 chairs, but there were only 22 rows of 36 chairs,” says Reiner. “This meant that just before the concert was to start, members of the choir were sent down to the basement to fetch extra chairs.”

Another anecdote Reiner remembers is that there used to be a prize for the choir member who sold the most tickets before a concert. There was also a curmudgeonly person in the Choir, let’s call him Robert. Robert sold a huge number of tickets but occasionally someone else would share the prize. Ken would announce that the first prize was a week at Sun City with Robert, second prize was two weeks with Robert, and so on. Robert never saw the humour in this.

Reiner also recalls the choir being hired for a marriage proposal at St Columba’s.

“Someone had to stand guard to watch out for the groom. In the meantime, the wax from the tealight candles, which were laid out in the shape of a heart, leaked all over the floor.”

The bride accepted the proposal. But the choir was left with the challenge of how to remove the wax. (See accompanying photograph.)

  • Lucia Poorter is a soprano in the choir
  • Theo Coggin is the editor of The Bach Blog