For Immediate Release Contact: Carol Sisco
[email protected] (860) 275-7212 cpbn.org, cptv.org, wnpr.org CPTV to Air Bala Brothers on Monday, January 12 at 9 p.m. — The Concert Special Comes to PBS for the First Time with This Premiere Event — HARTFORD, Conn. (December 31, 2014) – Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) will host the U.S. broadcast premiere of Bala Brothers, Monday, January 12, live at 9 p.m. Bala Brothers, who will be live in the CPTV studios, grew up poor in a South African township and rose to become national singing stars while breaking through apartheid barriers. During the concert special, viewers will hear a mix of South African traditional music and contemporary songs from Elton John, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. During the live breaks, Bala Brothers will be interviewed in the studio. This program features the amazing musicianship of the three gifted brothers, who are already stars in their own country; they grew up in a home with dirt floors and no electricity, but were able to lift themselves out of poverty through their sheer talent. Brothers Zwai, Loyiso and Phelo come from a musical family, and all three possess remarkable innate musical abilities and singing voices. They remain influenced by their membership in South Africa’s famous Drakensberg Boys’ Choir. In fact, older brother Zwai broke barriers by becoming the choir’s first black member. -more- CPTV to Air New Bala Brothers Concert Special / Page 2 They are drawn to a number of musical genres, from pop to gospel to opera. Their talents will be displayed in full-force in their first-ever PBS concert special, which was recorded live at the Lyric Theatre in Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the participation of a 24- piece orchestra and the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir – the very choir that played such an important role in the brothers’ lives, and for which Phelo went on to hold the positions of head chorister and music leader.