“His Song Continues in All of Us”: Drakensberg Boys Choir Founder Dies and SA Mourns a True Legend

• The Drakensberg Boys Choir School announced that their founder, Mr John Tungay, passed away on 22 March
• Tungay founded the school in 1967 after convincing his parents to dedicate 100 acres of their KwaZulu-Natal farm to his dream
• South Africans and people from around the world shared personal memories of how the choir had touched their lives or the lives of people they loved

The Drakensberg Boys Choir School shared heartbreaking news on their Facebook page on 24 March 2026. Their founder, Mr John Tungay, had passed away on 22 March, and the school said goodbye to him the only way they know how, through song. They shared the news of his passing with a heartfelt message:

It is with deep sadness that the Drakensberg Boys Choir School mourns the passing of our founder, Mr John Tungay. We honour a visionary whose faith, courage, and conviction in the power of music gave rise to one of South Africa's most cherished institutions.

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John Tungay's story started with a dream and a piece of land. He persuaded his parents, Ronald and Gwen, to give up 100 acres of their family farm in the Drakensberg to build a choir school unlike anything Africa had ever seen. Doors opened in 1965 to the first 20 pupils, and by 1967, the school was properly established. His vision was a multi-racial, multi-cultural choir school that could stand alongside the Vienna Boys Choir, not in a famous European city, but in a quiet, beautiful valley in the mountains of KwaZulu-Natal.

What grew from those humble beginnings became one of South Africa's most iconic institutions, with boys touring internationally every year and carrying the country's music to audiences across the world.

The tribute the choir shared in his memory showed exactly what he built. The boys were filmed walking up a hillside trail in white shirts, black pants, and shoes in hand, singing Mzwandile Mabuza's Duduz'umoya Wami together as they climbed.

Watch the Facebook clip below:

SA mourns the Drakensberg Boys Choir founder

People who loved the choir and those who had never even heard of it before were moved in equal measure and shared their love on the Facebook page @dbchoir's clip:

@Caro Swarts said:

"The first note, and I started to cry."

@Fiona Scott-Hayward shared:

"RIP John Tungay. My brother was one of the first choirboys when he joined in 1968. I remember collecting him off ships when they sailed to Cape Town and the amazing concerts."

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@Cathrine Ferreira wrote:

"When I was at Bergville boarding school, the choir would come once a year. I did not truly understand at that time what a privilege it was. Now I live in the USA and can truly appreciate it."

@Jeanine Alexander Thomas said:

"What a legacy he left behind. My husband went in 1986, and my son has the privilege of being there as a new boy this year. What an amazing treasure he left us."

@Margie Winter wrote:

"A sad day for the Drakensberg Boys Choir, their friends and community, founded on love, faith and song. May he rest in peace."

More on SA choirs

• Briefly News recently reported on a South African choir in Illinois who showed up at the airport in matching colours to welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa.
• The Ndlovu Youth Choir released a Zulu rendition of a beloved South African song that had people saying it was one of the most proudly South African things they had seen.
• Tom Holland personally reached out to the Ndlovu Youth Choir after they created a tribute for the new Spider-Man trailer.

Source: Briefly News