Vocal Ex reflects on five-year journey

By Bongani Ndlovu

Vocal Extraordinaire (Vocal Ex), a Bulawayo-based gospel choir is looking to conquer the world as it celebrates its fifth anniversary today.

The choir will celebrate through a concert that will coincide with a DVD/CD recording at Word of Life Church in Bulawayo from 3PM.

Vocal Ex was set up by Mkhululi Bhebhe, Eric Moyo and Thembelani Mdlaziba who is its director.

Mdlaziba said as they turn five, the group is ready to take their music to the world.

“We believe that with all that we’ve learnt, we’re ready to package our music for the world, something that will hopefully create opportunities for us. We also plan to record music annually and tour in between,” said Mdlaziba.

The director said in the five years, the group has grown spiritually and musically.

“Looking back, besides our growth spiritually and musically, we’ve learnt about the importance of branding. It’s a must for any artiste because it’s a representation of what you stand for.

“We’ve also learnt that as artistes, we need proper management as this brings a sense of direction and builds a foundation and structures. All this, if done right, can actually give the brand a lifeline, growth and longevity.”

He said when the choir was formed, all they wanted was to sing and praise God.

“When we began, most of the guys were almost 20 or in their early 20s. We just wanted to sing. That was our main focus and it was all passion driven.

“The attention came when we did well and everything grew from there.”

In its inception stage, the group performed at the National Arts Merit Awards and later Intwasa Arts Festival, Ibumba Festival and Gwanda International Gospel Festival.

Mdlaziba said although there are a lot of success stories, the downside is that they still do not have a sponsor.

“The challenges the group faces are mostly financial. We haven’t secured sponsorship yet though we are hoping to secure one in the near future. We’ve worked hard and believe it’ll yield positive results in this regard,” said Mdlaziba. The Chronicle.