PRESS: Cape Town Opera Foundation School Learner wins first prize at ABC Motsepe South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod

Allison Foat

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Seventeen-year-old soprano Yongama Takane from Khayelitsha, a member of the Cape Town Opera (CTO) Foundation Studio, has won first prize in the Solo Soprano Category at the ABC Motsepe South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod, held on 3 July 2025 in Johannesburg, Gauteng. 

Photo Supplied.

The ABC Motsepe Eisteddfod, a key initiative of the Department of Basic Education, plays a vital role in promoting unity, positive values and social cohesion among school-going youth in South Africa.

Yongama who hails from Khayelitsha in Cape Town, is one of thirteen high school learners currently enrolled in CTO’s Foundation Studio, a music education programme launched in 2021 to nurture young vocal talent from communities including Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and Mannenberg. 

The Foundation Studio aims to give high school learners access to music literacy courses that their schools cannot offer. On a weekly basis the programme provides vocal lessons, theory lessons, lessons in keyboard studies, aural training, meals, transport between school, home and Cape Town Opera’s rehearsal spaces, as well as all materials needed including stationery.  Making sure learners have the necessary skills to enter tertiary education institutions is the primary goal of the Foundation Studio. “

We’re so proud of Yongama, the CTO Foundation Studio teachers, Harry Gwala Secondary School which she attends,  and the dedicated teachers there who support her musical journey,” said Madré Loubser, Head of Education and Participation at Cape Town Opera.

The Foundation Studio programme is supported by the Judith Neilson Foundation, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, and the Rotary E-club Hamburg Connect.