[ti:South African Singers Adapt to COVID-19 by Making New Music] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The streets of rural South Africa are far from the bright lights of American television, [00:07.64]but that is where members of the Ndlovu Youth Choir [00:12.52]find themselves during the coronavirus health crisis. [00:18.60]With a mix of song and dance moves, the choir earned the right [00:23.36]to compete in the finals of the "America's Got Talent" television show last year. [00:30.32]After that, the group performed at sold-out shows across the United States and Europe. [00:38.40]It also signed a recording contract. [00:43.48]But the disease COVID-19 stopped the group's travels. [00:49.40]Its members returned to Moutse Valley [00:53.44]in the South African province of Limpopo, one of the country's poorest areas. [01:01.32]"We were supposed to go to Germany for a performance, but it got canceled. [01:07.08]We are used to touring the world, doing shows everywhere, [01:11.80]and during this corona time it's been very difficult," [01:16.00]said Sandile Majola, a member of the choir and its manager. [01:23.24]The virus has created new risks for singing together, [01:27.88]but this is not stopping the young singers. [01:32.68]The group was formed in 2008 to help orphans [01:36.72]and children of people with HIV/AIDS, said Hugo Tempelman, a Dutch doctor. [01:44.72]Thirty years ago, he started a medical center [01:47.88]that has become a neighborhood development project, the Ndlovu Care Group. [01:55.92]The project has more than 600 families, with none headed by adults. [02:03.04]The oldest child was in charge, he said. [02:07.24]"We tried to assist those kids with food programs [02:11.48]and tried to give them a more resilient way of surviving, through life skills," Tempelman said. [02:20.60]He saw a bigger need for the children's future. [02:25.48]"When I saw the kids go home, I still didn't see a smile. [02:30.12]And I thought that if we want to provide hope, [02:33.76]we must give them something that they can be proud of," he said. [02:39.68]So, he came up with the idea of forming a youth choir. [02:45.92]"You start a choir, because Africa sings," he said. [02:50.20]"Africa sings everywhere. They sing at a funeral; they sing at a birth." [02:57.52]In 2016, the choir's members became more professional with the help of donors. [03:06.04]Two years later, their version of the Ed Sheeran song "Shape of You" [03:12.08]earned them a place on "America's Got Talent." [03:16.64]Their performances made them famous. [03:20.52]Now, the 38 young singers are developing a new plan. [03:27.00]Choir manager Majola said all the singers, ages from 13 to 26, [03:33.60]have been tested for COVID-19 and have been cleared to sing together. [03:41.04]A recording and filming studio has been built at a nearby neighborhood theater. [03:47.72]They have begun putting together a performance for an online show. [03:54.12]"We are getting together for the first time since the lockdown started," said Majola. [04:01.64]Choir director Ralf Schmitt said the group is rehearsing new songs [04:07.24]for their first album with Sony Music. [04:11.64]Online performances are also planned. [04:15.36]The album will be released at the end of the year, [04:20.16]but the choir plans to release a song, "We Will Rise," [04:25.00]to mark the birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela on July 18. [04:33.76]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM