Rousing applause for children

Seventeen organists met for an organ weekend in Schaffhausen-Neuhausen in Switzerland. It began on Friday afternoon, 21 June 2024 with baroque and romantic organ works. On Saturday, the musicians then had the opportunity to try their hand at the organs of the various churches in the city. That evening they gave a concert. On Sunday, elaborate organ music enriched the divine service in Schaffhausen.

Organ restored

For fifteen years, the organ of the central church in Lusaka in Zambia was non-functional, but on 22 July 2024, District Apostle Kububa Soko dedicated the completely renovated instrument in a festive gathering. The District Apostle was accompanied by his assistant Robert Nsamba, the district’s music director, Namasiku Simushi, and the staff of the administrative offices. Early this year, Gregory Vernon Van Schalkwyk from Cape Town in South Africa was engaged to restore the instrument. He was away from his family for weeks to fulfil the assignment. It was worth it: at last, the beautiful sound of organ music once again fills Lusaka Central.

For all generations

Around nine hundred years before Christ, there lived a man who prayed for fire to come down from heaven and who defied the ruling couple. He suffered from the consequences of the drought he had predicted and almost gave up at times. In the end, he experienced God. This story still inspires people today, for example musicians such as the Hermann Ober Ensembles. These are a group of choirs and orchestras in the Berlin-Brandenburg region.

Their children’s choir and orchestra performed the children’s musical Elijah – Yahweh is my God in the New Apostolic Church in Berlin-Charlottenburg on 29 June 2024. They enthralled the audience and listeners of all ages with the Bible story, which was told in a modern and understandable way for children.

The slightly older members of the Hermann Ober Ensemble performed Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s oratorio Elijah on 13 and 14 July 2024 in the Jesus Christ Church in Berlin-Dahlem. The choir, orchestra, and soloists provided two hours of musical emotion.

Music camp

For three weeks, the children from almost all of Apostle Oscar Nwanza’s districts in western Nigeria occupied themselves with their favourite instruments. Traditionally, the children come together during the school holidays and learn lots of new things from professional music teachers. The music camp is funded by the Jörg Wolff Foundation.

The camp began on 29 July 2024 and, as always, ended with a concert at which the children presented what they had learned. This time, the festive event lasted not a few hours, but two days. The children entertained the audience with works by notable composers such as Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and many other masters. At the end, a beaming Apostle Nwanza thanked the instructors and the children, and encouraged the youngsters to continue to practise and play in their congregations.

Friendship concert

The children’s choir of the New Apostolic Church Cape Town in South Africa gave a benefit concert with the youth orchestra on 25 August 2024 in the Silvertown Auditorium in aid of the Masakahe Foundation. The audience was captivated and responded with rousing applause after each musical item. District Apostle Peter Lambert expressed his thanks to all those involved. He handed over the proceeds of the concert to the managing director of the Masakhe Foundation, the retired Bishop Gregory February. Proceeds from ticket sales had amounted to R150,000. And that was not all. The young people from across Southern African had raised funds throughout the month of August and able to present the foundation with an additional cheque of R100,000.