Zaylee Bouman (joined 2023)
Zaylee is born in Walvis Bay and attend The International School of Walvis Bay. She thinks it is absolutely amazing to be part of the Cgals and says it’s like a magical experience where you get to blend your voice with others and create something truly special. The feeling of singing in harmony with others is just indescribable for her. She also thinks that being a part of a choir gives you a sense of belonging and camaraderie. It’s like having a second family who shares the same passion for music.
Zaylee also loves horse riding, listening to music and quad biking.
Ezan Coetzee (joined 2012)
Ezan was born in the beautiful coastal town Swakopmund and was raised in the small town of Omaruru. From 1983 she attended Windhoek High School in Namibia’s capital where she matriculated in 1988. It was in this school where her love for choir singing started, and it was also there where she met Wilna Liebenberg and Vera Malherbe. Wilna and Ezan were choir members of the Windhoek High School Choir conducted by Ena Venter and accompanied by Vera Malherbe. These were wonderful times for her, and she never thought it possible that thirty years later she would again perform in a choir. She joined the Cgals Chamber Choir in 2012 and was part of the group attending the 8th World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia in 2014, as well as the 10th World Choir Games in Pretoria, South Africa. What a privilege and a great experience!
Ezan is happily married and has three children and three beautiful grandsons.
To Ezan the Cgals Choir is: singing, enjoying and developing a God-given talent and having a choir family with wonderful friends, dreaming big dreams and doing great things together!
Louise du Plessis (joined 2009)
Louise was born in South Africa but lived in Namibia for most of her life, the country that has crept into her heart. She is a proud Namibian citizen. She first heard the Cgals performing at a fundraising for Cancer in 2002. From that moment she wanted to be part of this wonderful choir and a few years later, this dream came true. For her it is part of her life and all the choir members are part of her “family". She was part of the Norway tour in 2012, the ATKV Animato Competition in South Africa in 2013 and the World Choir Games in 2014, 2016 and 2018 and Sing for Gold in 2022.
After 34 years of a marriage Louise became a widow in 2013. She has three children (one in Namibia and two in New Zealand) and also has four grandchildren, two living in New Zealand and two nearby in Walvis Bay. In 2016 she married again (an old friend and colleque of her late husband) and had an instant increase in family with four children and eleven grandchildren.
She loves to listen to all kinds of music and loves reading, camping, to be in nature and travelling abroad to visit her children. She retired from teaching in 2017 and keeps herself busy with all kinds of different hobbies.
Edith Ewald (joined 2014)
Edith was born and raised in Swakopmund. She completed her schooling at the Convent of the Holy Cross in Windhoek and graduated as a teacher in Cape Town. From a young age, she has been passionate about Singing and Music and these passions she could live out in her twenty years as a teacher. Edith is married to Werner and they are blessed with three wonderful sons. Joining the Cgals Chamber Choir has been a long time dream, which culminated in the participation at the 9th World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia, where the group achieved a Gold diploma and winning the Musica Sacra with accompaniment section. For her it is a privilege and a blessing to be taught; and singing side by side with so many talented ladies.
Irma Kruger (joined 2008)
Irma is 56 years old and matriculated in 1983 at High School Stella, which is in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
She has been in Walvis Bay for 28 years and is married to Jan Kruger and they have 4 wonderful children inclusive of the spouses. They also have been blessed with 5 grandchildren whom she just loves ♥
Irma studied Financial Management and work as a Bookkeeper from her home office, mostly responsible for the accounting and tax functions of her clients.
She has been a member of the Cgals choir for the last 14 years, her singing family is part of her my circle of friends. Wilna has helped her to reach her personal singing goals with solo lessons too, singing is part of the breath that God enriched her with.
Furthermore she loves to read, laugh, walk in nature, enjoy cooking and tend to the need of others in her local church with compassion.
Imelda //Naobes (joined 2013)
Imelda was born in 1987 and matriculated in 2003 after which she worked in the tourism industry for ten years. She is currently working at Bannerman Resources as Administrative assistant.
Imelda joined the Cgals in 2013 after attending one of their concerts. She was intrigued by the diversity in music and the lovely ladies welcomed her and inevitably became family to her.
As a member of the Cgals Chamber Choir, she had some amazing travel experiences touring with the choir for competitions which included the ATKV Animato Competition (South Africa), 2014 World Choir Games (Latvia), the 2016 World Choir Games (Russia) and 2018 World Choir Games in Tswane (South Africa).
To prepare herself for group rehearsals, she makes regular practice sessions for herself which take about 15 -30 minutes or she would just listen to the recordings as she does her chores. She is so thankful for the bonds formed and relationships she has built with the ladies over the years.
Iroleen Page (joined 2022)
Iroleen was born in Walvis Bay but when she was only 1 year old, they moved to Lambertsbaai in South Africa where her father was a fisherman. Her grandparents had a farm in South Africa and her grandparents from mother side was managers at Monte Carlo Lodge (now Huab Lodge) near Khorixas and Kamanjab in Namibia. The sea and the farms were very special to her and there her love for the sea and the nature began.
She started school in Lambertsbaai but in 1988 they moved back to Walvis Bay where she attended the primary school and the secondary school. There she also sang in the school choirs. After her father’s death in 1992 they moved to her mother’s parents in Outjo where she went to Moria Private School. All three children sang in the school choir under the leadership of Mr Murray Viljoen. In 1995 she wrote matric and then moved back to Walvis Bay working in the Tourism Industry where she met her husband. They started a business and she is accountant in the business.
Iroleen is part of a big family which she loves. She and her husband are blessed with two very special boys and she has the privilege to look after them as well as being part of the business. As a family, they all take part in compound archery. She won the title of Africa Women Champion and was also nominated as Sport Women for Namibia.
Iroleen is a positive and lively person and enjoys life very much. She loves to be in nature, looking at sunsets and spending time with friends with pizza and wine.
At the end of 2022 she joined the Cgals after she heard about the choir and because her boys are now more independent, she has time to fit in the choir as well as another hobby, Srapbooking. She feels so blessed to be part of the choir and her new choir family!