Caitlin Balmer

Some of my earliest memories are of my Mom waking me up in the morning singing 'good morning' songs of some form or other. Being from a musical family, there has never been a time when music wasn't a significant part of my life. I remember learning children's songs in several languages before I started pre-school and being taught to 'cha-cha' by my Oupa in the passage of his cottage.

As a young child, I went with my parents to Operetta rehearsals and shows they participated in, which instilled an early and abiding love of part songs and musical theatre. My primary school music teacher, Keith Tyler, encouraged my love of singing, giving me lessons and enrolling me in the National Eisteddfod. He wrote a musical production for the school each year, which I loved being part of, and allowed me to join the choir a year early. I cried when I heard he was retiring. Still, I continued to sing with the school choir and was its captain in my grade seven year when we won our category at the National Eisteddfod for the first time.

Outside of singing, my formal music education began at age four with basic theory and piano. During primary school, I took lessons with Dr. Marizanne Krugel, gaining a love for recorders, whistles and flutes of various descriptions. At Fourways High School, I participated in the school's theatre productions, first as part of the school band, playing woodwinds, then singing and dancing on stage as a cast member. In my final two years at school, I sang as part of the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg under the direction of Richard Cock, before moving to Makhanda/Grahamstown to begin a degree at Rhodes University in 2017.

Having a passion for insects and the outdoors just as solid and longstanding as my one for music, I fully intended to study science, majoring in Zoology and Entomology. However, during orientation week, I discovered that students could major in a subject outside their faculty. From there, music was the obvious choice, and I still take great delight in the confusion that comes with explaining my undergraduate majors; Instrumental Music Studies in Classical Voice and Entomology are an unusual combination.

Having never enjoyed opera, I began voice training with Jo-Nette Le Kay (whose passion for the art form is infectious) in my first year. Under her tutelage, I learned to understand, appreciate and enjoy opera as a style of musical performance. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I performed and participated in various concerts presented by the Rhodes University Department of Music and Musicology. I sang in the Rhodes University Chamber Choir (RUCC) in my first year and sat next to and befriended Jess (and, as a result, Glyn) at practices. Partway through the year, they approached me to join a small group they were singing with, the University Madrigal Singers. That was the beginning of the end, and I've been singing with Saeculum Aureum ever since.

In the beginning, it was a very steep learning curve. My sight singing improved drastically in a very short time, as, at that point, we practised with a pitch pipe, no piano, no accompaniment whatsoever, and I was unfamiliar with madrigal singing as a style. I was thrown in the deep end when Jess got sick a few days before my first concert with the group; I had to learn one of Byrd's Masses to support the higher notes and to be able to step in if her voice gave up part way through.

Unfortunately, the vocal strain of singing for over 15 hours a week, excluding personal practice time, meant I had to leave RUCC partway through my second year in favour of completing my degree. After undergrad, I intended to pursue a B.Sc. (Hons) in Zoology & Entomology in 2020 whilst continuing vocal training with Devon Florence in preparation for Music Honours the following year, but the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that plan. Despite the challenges, I am currently finishing my M.Sc. in Entomology, after which I intend to complete a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, specialising in Life Sciences and Creative Arts.

In the end, I have found a fantastic group of friends and co-conspirators, and my musical knowledge and repertoire have expanded beyond anything I imagined. I have found a home here and have no plans of going elsewhere in the foreseeable future.