RWANDA’S PREMIER CATHOLIC CHOIR, Chorale de Kigali, have started early preparations for their routine Christmas Carols concert slated December 16 at Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village (KCEV).

The choir confirmed the annual concert as early as they could to hype their audience and build the momentum ahead of the highly-anticipated concert that normally ushers Christians as part of early celebrations of the Christmas Day.

"This is going to be our ninth concert since we started staging Christmas Carols Concert which has grown from just a concert to a ‘brand’ because of the best music that our audience has enjoyed over the past years. We are putting everything in their right place to make sure that this year’s edition becomes the special one for everyone who will attend it,” said Albert Ndayisenga, the choir director.

"Expect us to perform new songs on the performance playlist plus other iconic songs that have been a joy to listen to and watch to perform over the past years,” he added.

To make the concert a special one for their audience, the choir will, via its website platform, hear from the audience which songs they want them to perform during the concert.

The top three most requested songs will make it to the choir’s final performance playlist as a sign of approving people’s requests.

Founded in 1966, Chorale de Kigali is arguably the oldest Catholic choir in Rwanda that was founded by a group of 20 music pioneers, most of whom were music graduates of Catholic Seminaries at the time of its foundation.

Some of its key founders include Claver Karangwa, Leon Mbarushimana, Callixte Kalisa, Prof Paulin Muswahili, and Saulve Iyamuremye among others.

The choir is currently made up of over 150 members, 60 percent of which are young people.

Chorale de Kigali has established itself as an undisputed music choir in the Catholic Church, and their uniqueness has given them an honour to perform at big concerts and participate in different religious festivals as well as compose lyrics for different musical bodies.

Entrance for the concert ranges from Rwf10, 000 for regulars, Rwf20, 000 for VIPs and Rwf25, 000 for VVIPs.