“This was the finest performance of this work I have ever conducted.”
Donald Hunt on conducting the Cape Town Philharmonia Choir performance of the Mozart Requiem

The Philharmonia choir is recognised as being of an extremely high calibre. While we are an amateur body, we expect of our members the highest standards of musicality and discipline. Attendance at rehearsals – held once a week throughout the year – is essential for participation in concert performances. This attention to detail has allowed successive professional choral trainers to use their outstanding vocal and coaching skills to shape and polish the musical phrasing of the choir.

Meet our Director of Music

Antoinette Blyth has been a member of the Philharmonia Choir since 1998. Between 2001 and 2004 she assisted first Vetta Wise and then Margaret Barlow in training the choir and in December 2004 she was appointed as Assistant Director of Music. She was appointed as the choir’s Director of Music in January 2006.

Antoinette's interest in choral training and conducting began as a pupil at Westerford High School where she assisted in training the school choir and conducted the choir and orchestra in concert at the City Hall. She completed a B.Mus. degree at the University of Cape Town in 2001 and has studied choral conducting under the tuition of the eminent Norwegian professor Kåre Hanken. In 2003 Antoinette spent a year as Student Conductor to the Drakensberg Boys' Choir School. While at the school she conducted the boys in excerpts from Faure’s Requiem, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban. She has since appeared as soprano soloist with the boys in a production of Carmina Burana.

During 2003 Antoinette was also employed as accompanist for the South African National Youth Choir Course and performed works such as Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms as a member of the National Youth Choir of South Africa. She has sung in several Cape Town adult choirs including True Voices, a six-voice ensemble, and frequently performs solo and duet Bach cantatas in chamber baroque concerts. She has appeared as soprano soloist for the Philharmonia Choir, on their tour to England in 2001, in two Christmas concerts and in performances at the UCT Summer School in January this year.

Antoinette has been employed by several Cape Town schools, teaching piano, classical guitar and voice. She was Head of Music at Edgemead High School in 2005 and was a member of the music staff at SA College High School from 2006 until the end of 2008. She is currently a postgraduate student at the UCT College of Music.

Our chairperson: James Gribble


Born in Cape Town in 1939, James matriculated at Grey College, Bloemfontein, and went on to complete a BSc degree at the University of the Orange Free State. A call to offer for the ordained ministry of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa led to a change of direction. He completed a BD degree at Rhodes University, and served in appointments in Tzaneen, Eastern Pondoland, Randfontein, Orange Grove/Sandringham, Vereeniging Central, and Plumstead. For close on 30 years he was involved in the in-service training of ministers. A 15 year term as Bishop of the far-flung Cape of Good Hope District preceded a final appointment in Knysna before retirement from active work at the end of 2005.

Besides singing in various church choirs in different places James also sang in the Cape Town Male Voice Choir for a while. Before moving to the southern Cape, James and his wife, Jill, were members of the Philharmonia Choir for seven years. A first priority on returning to Cape Town was to rejoin the Philharmonia Choir.

James’s other interests include the piano, gardening, reading, personal computing, travel and (watching) sport.

The Gribbles have three children and five grandchildren.

The committee   (philchoir@icon.co.za)

Chairman                             James Gribble             
Vice-Chair                             Helen van der Horst          
Treasurer                              Sally Hofmeyr 
External Communications        Shirley Churms
Membership                           Ian Fraser
Resources                             Don Ainslie
Logistics                                Liz Brash
Director of Music                    Antoinette Blyth

Secretary:                             Nadia van Niekerk
                                            Tel. (021) 421 8368
                                            Cell. (082) 927 6531
                                            Fax (021) 794 3414