The millionaire town in South Africa with the world’s top-ranked university choir
The Stellenbosch University Choir ranked at the top of the Interkulture World Rankings for amateur choirs from 2012 to 2024 and only lost its spot because it didn’t compete in enough events.
Stellenbosch is well known for many other reasons, including its university, its winemakers, and its billionaires.
Stellenbosch University regularly features among South Africa’s highest-ranked universities and is ranked 296th in the world in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings for 2027.
This also placed Stellenbosch University third in South Africa, only behind the University of Cape Town and the University of Johannesburg.
Unlike these other universities, Stellenbosch has the feel of a true university town. This is one of two key cultural influences on the small town.
The other is its prominent winemaking culture, with over 350 different wine farms operating in the Stellenbosch region.
These range from small boutique wineries to some of the largest wine brands in the country, such as Spier, Lanzerac, Kanonkop, and Tokara.
The beautiful vineyards of Stellenbosch are one reason the town has become a popular home for many of South Africa’s most wealthy individuals.
These affluent businessmen who call Stellenbosch home include Christo Wiese, Johann Rupert, Jannie Mouton, Whitey Basson, Koos Bekker, Paul Harris, and Michael Jordaan.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that Stellenbosch has become a pocket of excellence within South Africa, and its world-beating Stellenbosch University Choir is proof of this.
Stellenbosch University Choir
The Stellenbosch University Choir was founded in 1936 and considers itself to be following in South Africa’s rich tradition of both amateur and professional choirs.
It is made up exclusively of Stellenbosch University students and comprises approximately 100 members.
These singers come from a variety of disciplines and stages of study at the university, and also come from various backgrounds and communities.
The choir has been led by André van der Merwe for over 20 years and has developed a global reputation for excellence.
Between 2012 and 2024, it ranked as the top amateur choir in the world each year, according to the globally renowned Interkultur rankings.
According to the Stellenbosch University Choir’s website, this era of dominance included a plethora of impressive international successes, including:
- 2010 World Choir Games in China – Won the Musica Contemporanea and Mixed Choirs categories
- 2012 World Choir Games in the USA – Won the Mixed Choirs and Musica Sacra categories
- 2014 World Choir Games in Latvia – Won all three categories and achieved the competition’s highest-ever score of 99%
- 2016 World Choir Games – won all three categories and achieved a 96% score
- 2018 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales – Won Open, Youth, and Mixed Choirs categories
- 2020 World Choir Games – could not compete due to the pandemic
The reason the Stellenbosch University Choir eventually lost the number one spot in the Interkultur rankings is that it didn’t compete in enough global competitions.
Alongside the choir’s many impressive achievements, it has performed at various important events, such as the funeral of Princess Margaret Obaigbena in Nigeria and the ISPS Sports Values Summit in Tokyo, Japan.
Stellenbosch photos
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