KNYSNA NEWS - A video on the Knysna-Plett Herald's Facebook page of painter Matthews Gula singing outside his workplace in the town has been played over 66 000 times and drawn over 1 700 "likes".
Matthews, 55, sings alongside co-workers Peter Janklaas and Ntobeko Tshemese - during their lunch break - in the video, at the side of a building housing shops in Queen Street, central Knysna, that they are helping to renovate.
He sings a hymn in isiXhosa that he learnt as a boy when a member of the choir at the Congregational Baptist Church in Zwide, Gqeberha, and a song, Come where the birds are singing, learnt while in the choir at Zwide's Mvisiswano Primary School.
"I just sing to myself at home and at work. Everyone says I have a nice voice," he says.
'One of the best'
A post by Ralph Wildeman says Matthews is "one of the best ... when it comes to painting".
He is "very neat and (has a) clean working area around him; he does that all the time 'cause he likes a beautiful clean site".
Godfrey Thandikhaya Nyawuza posted: "Maranatha, the Lord is coming, sing for the world with your beautiful voice."
Asked to comment on Matthews' singing, Phil Golson, who has a doctorate in musical arts from the University of South Carolina in the US, and works with Garden Route Arts, Communication and Education (Grace Inc), said: "He has a very listenable voice.
'Sure note placement, sensitivity'
"A pleasing tenor with a good ear for staying on pitch, sure note placement and sensitivity, (a challenge when singing solo and a capella), he vocalised gentle contours of the melodies and a flowing manner that is endearing to the listener.
"I hope we hear him again, locally, in the future. This proves yet again that there are many talented artists all around us in our communities, and we must highlight them at every opportunity."
Matthews, who lives in Joodse Kamp, Knysna, has been painting since he was 19, and moved to Knysna from Gqeberha in 1999.
He and his wife, Veronica Funeke, have two sons and two daughters.
Their eldest son works for the local security company Allsound Security, their younger son is travelling at present, their eldest daughter works at Shoprite in Knysna, and their younger daughter is a Grade 7 pupil at Thembelitsha Primary School in Concordia.
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