MC Singers Plan South Africa Tour

Making their third international tour since 2004, Mississippi College Singers are planning a South Africa tour next spring.

“We are very pleased that the Chamber Choir of South Africa will host us during the first days of our trip to Johannesburg,’’ said Music Department Chairman James Meaders, director of the 55-member MC Singers.

The group from South Africa is comprised of local musicians, ages 18-30. During the early days of the tour in May 2011, Chamber Choir members “have been most gracious in opening their homes to members of the MC Singers,” Meaders said. “It is my sincere hope that we will be able to return the favor sometime in 2011 by having them here at MC.”

The cost of the overseas trip isn’t cheap. Dozens of members of the MC Singers will seek support from the campus and community during the upcoming school year. Mississippi College expects to host a silent auction, a concert and possibly a banquet to generate funding for the trip, Meaders said. He estimates the cost of the trip to South Africa will be $4,000 per student.

Known as the City of Gold, Johannesburg is situated in a country with a coastline spanning portions of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Away from their concert venues, the MC Singers may have a little time to check out the tourist attractions, and do some shopping. South Africa contains some of the oldest archeological sites in the world. Soccer fans know that South Africa recently hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. About 30 to 40 members of the MC Singers are expected to make the trip next May.

The award-winning MC Singers took 38 members of their group to cities in Europe for a series of concerts in May 2008.

In January 2010, the venue was Carnegie Hall’s historic Isaac Stern Auditorium. The MC Singers performed Rene Clausen’s “Memorial,” a composition that recalled the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy when terrorists destroyed the twin World Trade Center Towers in New York City and attacked the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Four high school choral groups, including those from Clinton High and Madison Central High, joined the MC Singers for that January 19 concert in New York City.

For more information about the South Africa trip, contact James Meaders at 601-925-3900 or meaders@mc.edu.