Culture
There are several high visibility items in the cultural year at Bishops, which attract large crowds and hyper-enthusiastic participation by the boys. The real core of the cultural programme, however, is the regular programme of music, society activity, drama and art activities that go on throughout the year. What is most noticeable during the years from 1999 to 2024 has been the developing depth and sophistication of the programmes that the boys undertake. And in this, they have to learn to balance the excitement of creativity with the possible risks of failure, and their management of the various projects they undertake. This is as true for the Prep as it is for the College.
The anniversary year 1999 was a very busy time culturally for staff and boys. The Music department under Garmon Ashby presented lunchtime concerts by the boys, visiting performer concerts, the matric recital, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examinations, entries to the Cape Town Eisteddfod, the choir leading the singing in Chapel, and up to 200 or more music lessons a week from 32 teachers. The 150 celebrations seemed to have a musical item in every event. The choir went on tour to England and visited the major cathedrals, as well as actually singing Evensong in Salisbury, Winchester, Canterbury, and St Paul’s Cathedrals.
Debating and public speaking competitions were regular features of the societies’ programmes, and teams participated in the local Rotary Speaking Competitions. There was an established pattern at the College of staging an annual school play at the end of the first term. In 1999, the play was Robert Bolt’s A Man for all Seasons – the same play that had been staged when the Memorial Theatre was opened in 1987. The Prep presented a production every second year, alternating with the Interhouse singing competitions.
The Art department hosted the Grade 12 Exhibition of the exam pieces.
There were twenty societies and clubs which met in the evenings, ranging from the Astronomy Society to the Wildlife Club. These activities came and went according to the level of enthusiasm of either the teachers supervising them, or the interest of the boys. Others endured throughout – Dance, Debating, International Affairs, History, Historical Bench, Forum, and Lingua Franca. The Accelerated Art Club started 2007 but had remained strong, as had the Global Initiative Network. (See the list of all the societies which were active.). At the Prep, there was a wide variety of clubs and societies which took place after sport in the afternoons.
And on top of all this, the College Eisteddfod was held at the start of the third term – one day of Speech, Visual Art, Music, Drama and the Interhouse singing, with the emphasis not only on performance but also participation. And then in September, the third Bishops Classic Pops was held over three days in the City Hall, with every musician in the school on stage, and every boy in the school in attendance over the two nights. There were items from the Orchestra, the Brass band, the Pipe band, the Marimbas band, the choirs, piano performances, and to top it off the school school singing Psalm 150 with gusto.
Following the 2010 Conference in September 2001, one of the key shifts that developed was summed up in the strap line which was adopted – Bishops Inspires Individuals. For the first time, in 2003, the award of Colours and Half Colours for Culture was instituted. Other changes included moving the Interhouse Singing from the Mallett Centre (which was way too small to accommodate the crowds that then wanted to attend this event) to His People’s Church in N1 City (which could hold over 5000 people). The Eisteddfod itself was shifted from the start of the third term to the final fortnight of the second term, after the midyear exams had been completed. A Junior one-act play festival was added to the Drama calendar, and with the opening of the Simpson Art and Technology Centre, there was much more space for art exhibitions. The newly opened John Peake Music School had a SoundHouse and a Recording Studio.
Debating and Public speaking continued to grow, and some boys were regularly included in the Western Province teams, and others in the national debating and public speaking teams.
Simply Blue, the a cappella group became a hot number for those boys who wanted the chance to perform, and over the next twenty years, the group went on tours in South Africa and to South America and Greece. From 2005, they also went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival almost as a regular fixture.
After some years of pushing and prompting, Drama was introduced as a matric subject in 2017, allowing some boys the chance to concentrate on their passion, and the immediate results were very impressive.
In 2007, Bishops hosted the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships. In 2009 there was a collaboration between the Accelerated Art Group and the Music department with the “Rhythms of Rothko” competition. In 2010 the One Act Play Festival had grown to include plays by Springfield, St Cyprian’s, Rustenburg, Bishops, Herzlia, The Dance Academy, and San Souci.
And all the while, the regular programme of music, art, drama, debating continued. The events that took place might seem to be just repetition, but each year, there would be a different cohort of boys who stepped up to participate.
In 2011, the Eisteddfod underwent a substantial re-branding with a custom designed programme, and a new logo to match the increasing sophistication of the events on the programme. In 2012, a refreshments tent was erected outside the Chapel with a big screen, which carried a live feed from a number of Eisteddfod venues. In 2013 a significant change was introduced by the IT department who made it possible for the House leaders to manage the Eisteddfod entry system entirely on their own. This shift to include project management gave the boys greater control of the process. In 2014, a new section called Film Production was added, as well as two new Owls – the Prelim Owl and the Boarding House Owl, to encourage participation.
The Classic Pops had been performed every three years, in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017, following much the same programme each year but with continuing enthusiasm and commitment.
Covid decimated many of the Cultural programmes which involved people being close together. The Music Department responded by creating a series of on-line productions called “Culture Unlocked”, a weekly programme of activities live-streamed every Wednesday night with opportunities for audience participation, which, despite the disruption, ensured a constant reminder of the worlds of music, art, and everything else. But the Eisteddfod and the Classic Pops had to be cancelled. Music at the Prep still flourished – of the 380 boys at Prep, 297 took some form of music lessons, and were involved in frequent concerts.
By 2022, the various components of the cultural side of the school were back in full swing – music ensembles at both College and Prep performed to live audiences; the school play was Shrek, performed at Herschel in conjunction with their girls; Simply Blue went to the UK again; and the Matric Recital and the Composers Concert were great hits. The Prep held an open-air production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, together with girls from Reddam. The leader groups of the Eisteddfod were apprehensive because two grades had not yet experienced the hectic nature of the preparations and performances, but all went well, and the traditional sections which had been side-lined by Covid were restored. 18 societies resumed their meetings.
The 175 Celebrations also included a number of high-level events, including the public speaking competition involving three languages, a four schools one-act play festival with participation by Bishops, Rustenburg, Herschel and St Cyprian’s. There was also a Combined Pre-Prep, Prep and College 175 Music Concert instead of a Classic Pops event.
