About

The Chitungwiza Harmony Singers was formed in August 1993. It draws its membership from people of different church denominations who reside in Chitungwiza and Harare. Chitungwiza Harmony Singers knows no racial or tribal boundaries as it pursues its objectives of uniting people from all walks of life through music.

Choir Director – Arnold Dzangare

The choir is currently being conducted by Arnold Dzangare and he is assisted by a group of energetic chorus masters Moses Mandeya, Vincent Matundu and Molly Dzangare.

The choir is the brainchild of Israel Dzangare who back in 1992 shared his thought with people like Dennis Muzira, Peter Thole , Nailos Mwawoneka, Stephen Matute and a few others. He learnt that it was possible to form a community choir. In August 1993 the first 16 choristers grouped together in the first ever rehearsal at the Baptist church in Chitungwiza and they HARMONISED!

The choir derives its name from the town of its formation and a strong Christian background has kept the group together over the years.

The vision behind the choir’s formation was to see the hidden music talent in the community flourish, nurturing young people who take choral music as a profession. The aim is also to uplift and encourage choral music promotion in the region and beyond. To assist in raising funds for charitable organisations within the community that it originates.

They do so by singing at various events and functions throughout the country and region.

As it grew from strength to strength, the choir entered its first ever choral competition in 1994, which was sponsored by Lever Brothers. The choir scooped the 1st position on both optional and set pieces and became the overall number one winner out of 34 choirs. Since then the choir has won several other competitions sponsored by Colgate and Palmolive. The choir also won in the Chitungwiza Regional Choral Association competitions sponsored by Musanhi Investment’s over the years. In 2003 it became the overall winner in its competition. Most recently, the choir emerged the overall winner in the most prestigious 2004 NAMA (National Arts Merit Awards) in the Choral Music Category.

The choir has managed to fill the gap between countries by joining the Old Mutual/Telkom National Choir Festivals held each year in the Republic of South Africa. It has managed to participate in the Northern Province regional competition since 1995 consecutively until now. In 2001 the choir won the overall position and proceeded to the finals held in Cape Town South Africa. In 2002 it took overall second position in the same competition and also produced its first choral album called Mavambo (The beginning) on a cassette and has since recorded the second album called Chimuaela iVangeli in 2000.

Chitungwiza harmony singers ventured into collaborations with a number of famous Zimbabwean Artists which include Albert Nyathi the Poet and performed as backing vocalist for Rockford ‘Roki’ Josphat (Ichanaya ) official Video. The choir also performed on international stages at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland 2005. The Chitungwiza Harmony Singers has been recognized for its excellence in choral music by the Gonzaga University Choir USA, and together they held a joint concert in 2017 at the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe.