The Festival of Song, Zimbabwe’s premier choral music festival that brings together the country’s most inspiring community, church and institutional choirs on one grand stage, is set to make a comeback at an event to be hosted in Bulawayo at the Large City Hall next Saturday.
According to organisers, the festival will be a gathering of ensembles that will bring together over 20 choirs from across the country.
The event is structured around three carefully curated categories designed to highlight different facets of choral music.
Church choirs are required to perform a prescribed set piece alongside a spiritually inspired original composition.
In a similar vein, community choirs will combine a set piece with an original gospel song to demonstrate grassroots creativity.
The pinnacle of the competition is the Super League, an elite category which brings together Zimbabwe's top five choirs to perform a demanding program of the most technically challenging repertoire.
The festival went dormant after its third edition due to a mix of logistical and economic challenges and now returns for its fourth season after a 2-year hiatus running under the theme ‘Nurturing Intercultural Peace.’
“This comeback is more than just a performance. It’s a cultural revival, a community celebration, and a bold reaffirmation of Zimbabwe’s powerful choral heritage,” read an official statement.
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“The return of the Festival of Song is more than nostalgic—it’s timely. In a world grappling with division, disconnection, and cultural erosion, Zimbabwe’s choral music scene has something powerful to offer: unity through harmony.”
“The festival’s theme reflects its deeper purpose—to use music as a bridge between cultures, generations, and ideologies.
“We want to inspire the younger generation to take pride in their cultural identity while finding solutions to local problems using local resources,” said programmes manager Wendy Muzite.
In September it ran workshops in Bulawayo and Harare comprising expert-led sessions in both technical execution and creative interpretation of choral music.
Additional focus areas included ‘conducting and direction,’ ‘set piece breakdown,’ and original composition coaching.’
It also hosts the Opera Festival Zimbabwe, a prestigious vocal showcase that was held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on October 11.
First launched in 2018, the festival quickly gained national recognition as a dynamic platform for community, church, and institutional choirs to unite under one banner.
The adjudication panel comprises three esteemed figures: Simbarashe Magureyi, a choral director, composer, and music educator; Paul Dumisani Bajilla, a seasoned musicologist and composer; and Sibusiso Mkhize, a respected figure in South Africa’s choral scene. Mkhize brings over 16 years of adjudication experience to the festival.
The victorious choirs will receive significant cash prizes, with the Super League winner awarded $1 500, the Community Category winner receiving $1 000, and the Church Choir category winner earning $500.
Festival of Song Zimbabwe is supported by the Zimbabwe Association of Choral and Musical Arts.
Adhering to international standards, the festival prioritises originality, arrangement, cohesion, and cultural relevance.
The rules mandate original or creatively rearranged performances, prohibiting the replication of popular versions.
The intent, as explained by technical director Tinashe Jera, is to incentivise creativity and cultural storytelling instead of mimicry.
