You've seen the Man ... now come hear the voice!!!!
Jacques Viljoen Snyman and ... IT GETS BETTER!!!!!
Admission: Free (Designated offering for SunServe will be received at the end of the program.)
JACQUES VILJOEN SNYMAN
Jacques Viljoen Snyman was born in the wine country of Stellenbosch, South Africa in 1973, a descendent of one of the first French Huguenot families to arrive in South Africa in the 17th century. While Jacques’ interest in Baroque music is more recent, perhaps it was in his blood all this time and reawakened when he discovered his countertenor voice in Cape Town and then traveled to London to study under Brian Parsons of the Conservatory de Lyon.
From his earliest childhood, Jacques sang in school or church choirs and with his entire family in homemade holiday pageants. He literally found his musicality by laying his ear on the lid of the piano played by his classically trained grandmother who sang operatic arias to him before she tragically underwent a surgical removal of her vocal cords.
From his grandfather, who competed in the Olympics, he inherited his great love of sport. From age 6 he pestered his mother to let him join a class of much older children being trained as gymnasts. At this early age he also excelled in cricket, rugby, soccer, track and field and swimming. As Jacques moved into middle school, he had become too large to perform on the gymnastic apparatus, so he concentrated on rugby, a sport where his size and speed were a huge advantage. Early on he, discovered his preference for the solo events of swimming, track and field, like the decathlon --- “One day, for the first time, I hurled the javelin. It just went far — really far.”
Jacques was chosen for the South Africa national teams, but was sometimes prevented from competing internationally because of the isolation of South Africa due to Apartheid. He competed in the Gay Games in Chicago in 2006 and won first place in the decathlon.
Jacques’ family moved frequently during his youth but he was always known as the ‘big guy who plays sports and can sing”. If anyone had a problem with the mix, Jacques would meet him on the pitch to settle it. Although he never suffered the pain of bullying that some other youngsters have experienced because they are different, Jacques always felt the need to stand up for the underdog or the little guy that didn’t fit in—even if it meant taking on a whole group of bullies. Jacques knew that he too was different, but he had to be self-reliant. No one could be trusted; no one would help.
Jacques always believed in his personal powers and learned to be fearless. At a tender age, his older brother playfully encouraged Jacques’ belief that by tying his bath towel around his neck like a cape, he could fly just like Superman. So, at his brother’s urging. Jacques mounted a high stone wall, ran with utter determination toward the drop off point and then with total belief he could fly, leaped into space—and he did fly! Well, maybe not exactly, but he did make it over the mail box before he belly-flopped onto the ground. But Jacques could not escape from his dark secret. He was not free from bullying nor could he fly away and escape the darkness he had to hide.
Bullying took a different course for Jacques. He knew he was different from his team mates. He wanted to be honest with them, but he feared their reaction. Rugby is a rugged sport with a highly masculine image. He sensed there would be little tolerance for anyone that was different. At that time there had never been a nationally recognized gay player who had come out publicly. In Jacques’ case, the bullying was more subtle. It was the lack of strong gay role models in sport that made him unwilling to suffer the potential rejection of simply being him self in the straight world of sport. For a straight sports person, this comes as a given, but not for a gay or lesbian player.
Now Jacques has decided to use his voice to raise awareness for the anti-bullying campaign and to encourage everyone to combat intolerance in every form. Jacques knows that life really does gets better.
The honesty is tough, not the bullies. We can only heal and be free, when we are not confined by our darkest secrets.
Jacques’ message for the anti-Bullying campaign is a simple one of refusal to submit to intolerance. “Never let anyone define you or label you. Never be bullied into silence. Never be afraid to tell the truth, but to believe in yourself and be yourself. Remember, ‘Bullying is Smoke . . . Courage is Fire’.”
