This chamber choir comprises the best voices St Stithians College has to offer. And Dalene is stretching them musically and intellectually. Judging by the frequent outbursts of laughter, they are all having a good time too!

During a tricky acappella section in the jazzy Dem Dy Bones, the rhythm slows of a little. "Keep it going with your hands," she asserts. They beat out a fast tempo for a few bars and spontaneously syncopated rhythm drums up between the rows of seated boys. A complex rhythmic counterpoint underpins the delicious harmony and Dalene looks pleased.

Anybody who succeeds in getting the intense concentration of senior school boys for three solid hours after they've come off the cricket pitch at 5pm has got to be exceptional. She believes she is lucky. "Choir has always been my hobby, now my hobby is my job." Her passionate musicality and genuine delight in her charges, some looming a couple of feet above her, radiates outward and reflects back in the energetic concentration of excellent teamwork.

The discipline is barely perceptible, yet unmistakable in the tight rendition, subtle blending and accurate rhythm. "Why didn't that work?" she encourages the boys to think about how their voice operates. "Because there's no breath support!" "Right," she says, "so support from your stomach, not just your vocal cords." They try again, this time the sound is full and confident.

"Drop your jaw... pianissimo... round that sound..." The boys press a finger to one ear, listening, gauging their own pitch, "Listen to each other, tenors" she calls from the piano. Te Quiero, a South American song with difficult chromatic contours requires focused attention. "Hold the pitch second basses...Yes... Brilliant!"

Dalene takes singing lessons with Alexander Schwartz, believing it imperative to keep her own voice in shape. She passes on to each of the 5 choirs she conducts the techniques essential to achieving optimal vocal quality. As well as mothering her own three children. Dalene juggles her position as Director of Music at St Stithians College with conducting the Wits University Choir and her choirs at Saints.

She attends as many courses on choral conducting as possible with a view to Iearning as much as possible. She attended the World Choir Symposium in Sydney in 1996 and in Rotterdam in 1999 and brought back fresh ideas and new songs from around the world. She perceives herself as primarily an educationalist and combines the delicate balance of discipline and fun with superb aplomb. "The kids really enjoy their music."

Dalene's tremendous giftedness lies not only in her astute musicality, but in her ability to relate to teens and adults alike, charging them with her infectious laughter and exuberant drive towards musical perfection. The successful encouragement of a deep and lifelong Iove of music in young people is a rare ability, which Dalene combines with tremendous verve and joie de vivre.

Liesl Stacey