Doane University Music Department

07/01/2025

Doane students, alumni, and faculty representing at the NCDA Summer conference yesterday. A special thanks and congratulations to Bryan Alvarado who conducted so well in the masterclass, too. Go Tigers!

06/14/2025

Day 6! We started our day by driving once again into Soweto. Here we saw the houses of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, the latter of which we were lucky enough to get a tour of! We sang “Asimbonanga” outside of Mandela’s house and were joined by passersby on the street who wanted to sing with us. Such a powerful experience and always amazing to see how music connects people of all backgrounds.

We learned more about the South African apartheid and visited the museum for Hector Pieterson, a little boy who was unfortunately one of thousands of children killed on June 16, 1978 for protesting the teaching of Afrikaans in South African schools. It is so important to learn about historical events such as this so we can learn from them and honor those who lost their lives fighting for a greater cause.

Our afternoon was one of the most powerful moments of our trip, though. We were supposed to sing with the National School of the Arts, but our concert was unfortunately cancelled because the school had not had running water for over two weeks. Our hearts still ache for these people, and we as a choir have all come back from this trip more grateful for all that we have. We had a delicious lunch provided by some of the locals in Soweto. It’s beautiful to see people who have so little material things, but so much love to give. We are all so grateful.

Instead of our concert we went to Kliptown, a community established during apartheid as a safe haven for the black people being forced out of big cities. While this community is extremely poor, the U.S. government and the donations worldwide helped them build the Kliptown Youth Center which provides after school programs for the children in Kliptown. We sang for them to celebrate KYP’s 18th birthday and had a great time getting to know the people who made it all happen!

More posts coming tomorrow!

06/14/2025

More South Africa posts! (Finally…)

May 26 we said goodbye to Cape Town and flew to Johannesburg. Upon our arrival we drove to Soweto where we had a workshop with the famous Soweto Gospel Choir! We learned a few of their songs and we sang for them as well. We had a great time singing and dancing with them and hearing their absolutely incredible voices! We had the afternoon and evening at our leisure and many members of the choir explored the fabulous mall in Johannesburg!

Day 6 post coming shortly!

06/06/2025

Apologies for the lack of posting! South Africa kept us really busy! The choir has been back in the states since the 1st, and it’s safe to say we have all come back as completely changed people. Stay tuned for a few posts detailing our last few days in South Africa! For now, enjoy these videos of the South Africa Choir singing “Hlohonolofatsa” with the Soweto Gospel Choir, and Isibane Se Afrika singing “Waka Waka” for us at the airport!

05/26/2025

Day 4 ✅

We started the morning at Jubilee Ministries where we sang at a service! The entire service was so joyful. The Isibane se Afrika choir sang a few songs (and were amazing… per usual) before the South Africa Choir sang “I’m Gonna Sing ‘Till the Spirit Moves in My Heart” by Moses Hogan. We ended the service by singing “Indodana” with the Isibane se Afrika choir.

We took the bus to Khayelitsha and were joined on the bus by the Isibane Se Afrika choir!!! They taught us several of their favorite songs and we got to know them better. They were all so sweet and it was so interesting hearing about how different their lives in Africa are from ours in America. We performed at a market in Khayelitsha before heading to lunch with the other choir.

After lunch, we drove through Khayelitsha and our eyes were opened to the poverty that is so prominent in South Africa. It’s important to see areas like this so we can have a better understanding of those different from us. We are all so lucky to have so much.

We leave for Johannesburg today! See you there!

05/24/2025

Doane choirs in Capetown, South Africa. We visited Robben Island today, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. We saw his cell, his garden, the quarry where prisoners worked, and we had the privilege of singing in the courtyard just outside his cell.

05/24/2025

Day 2 of our South Africa Tour!
We started the day off by listening to Christo Brand, former prison guard of Nelson Mandela, tell his amazing story of his relationship with Mandela and life during apartheid. He brought several copies of his book “Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend” and signed them for the choir. We sang popular South African song “Asimbonanga/Biko” to thank him. “Asimbonanga/Biko” sings about Nelson Mandela and Steven Biko, two huge advocates for the end of the apartheid.

After our talk with Mr Brand, we went on a bus tour of Cape Point where we saw some breathtaking views and made sure to take lots and lots of pictures! We then visited the Cape of Good Hope (more instagram pics were taken there, trust) and several members of the choir hiked to the Cape Point Lighthouse!

We went to Boulder Beach and hung out with some adorable penguins! We had lunch and then went to our rehearsal with the Uthandu Youth Choir and the Isibane se Afrika Choir. James Fernie, the founder of the Uthandu Youth Choir gave us a beautiful wire heart to take home as a reminder of our time in this beautiful country and the power that music brings.

We had such an amazing time yesterday and we can’t wait to see what else this trip has to bring us!

05/23/2025

South Africa Day 1 ✅
We started the day with a wonderful breakfast provided by the hotel staff. After breakfast we went to the District 6 museum where we learned about apartheid in South Africa. It was so powerful hearing stories from people who lived through this difficult time, and the whole choir was very impacted by this experience. We then went to the Victoria Wharf shopping center where the choir ate lunch and shopped around. After lunch, we went to Table Mountain where we took a cable car up to the top (around 3,500 elevation) and saw the most breathtaking view of the ocean and of the whole city of Cape Town. We sang the popular South African song “Indodana” and one of our English pieces “Sing to the Lord” at the top of the mountain and attracted quite the crowd! It’s always so amazing to see how our music impacts everyone around us. We ended the night at a fabulous restaurant Iron Steak and Bar before heading to our hotel for the night. We have a long and exciting day ahead of us tomorrow, including our first concert, so stayed tuned!!

05/22/2025

After 21 long hours on several planes, the Doane South Africa Choir has made it to our destination! We flew from Omaha to Atlanta, Atlanta to Amsterdam, and then finally we arrived in Cape Town! Stay tuned for a day by day sneak peak into our trip ;)

05/17/2025

This evening the Doane Choir sang at the baccalaureate and presidents concerts! It was so amazing singing with these wonderful seniors one more time.

Thank you Alexander, Alexis, Avery, Blake, Cooper, Elly, Isaac, Jason, Marc, Paige, Rowan, and Tori for contributing to this choir! We will miss you and can’t wait to see where the future takes you 🩷

04/30/2025

Doane University’s music department is hiring an adjunct voice teacher for next year; come join our team! There’s a lot of momentum here: new performing arts facilities going up right now, we will be welcoming a robust and talented incoming class of first-year and transfer students, and more. We’d love to welcome you to our Doane music faculty family.

https://doane.peopleadmin.com/postings/2223

04/30/2025

Doane University's music department is hiring an adjunct voice teacher for next year; come join our team! There's a lot of momentum here: new performing arts facilities going up right now, we will be welcoming a robust and talented incoming class of first-year and transfer students, and more. We'd love to welcome you to our Doane music faculty family.

Doane University, a liberal arts university with campuses located in Crete, Lincoln, and an Omaha Location invites applications for an Adjunct Instructor of Voice on our Crete Campus.The Adjunct Instructor will teach private lessons for the 2025-26 academic year. The schedule is flexible, and lesson...