Sound potential

By Marisa de Silva

In the beginning… there were seven young men, led by one dedicated musical mind, sharing one passion, one love, one desire. Ten years later… there are twenty-six young (and not-so-young) men, led by three dedicated musical minds, who share that same passion, that same love and that same desire. They call themselves 'The Old Joes Choir'.

With two sell-out shows – Evolution I&II already under their belt, 'The Old Joes' are all set once more to do what they do best, at on July 20-22, at the Lionel Wendt at 7.30p.m. Celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year, 'Evolution – Explore the Potential of Sound' promises to entertain and enthral as always. From contemporary renaissance composers like Karl Jenkins to the likes of Metallica, with pit-stops in South America and Broadway, 'The Old Joes' have continued to evolve and grow, both in number and quality, over the years.

Jointly directed by three of the most talented musical minds produced by the College in recent years, Choral Director – Migara Luvis and Assistant Choral Directors – Deshan Cooray and Eshantha Peiris, together with the Choir Leaders – Chrishan Perera and Damian Abeyratna, are the driving force behind this ever -evolving choral group.

Although with regard to their concerts so far, the general trend has been a sort of 'time-line' concept where they would work their way from classical/Gregorian era to modern music, this time around though, the choir will celebrate and recognise some of works of a few outstanding artists from each of the genres of their choice, some of whom have been quite underrated in their day; Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Scorpions and Rockapella to name a few.

Always straying from the norm of what's expecting of choral music, The Old Joes want to take choral music to the next level. That being said though, doesn't mean that they shy away from formal choral music all together, as they do acknowledge and do justice to the intricate technicalities involved in this genre as well. However, they don't want to restrict themselves to performing only this sort of music and would rather expand their repertoire across all genres of music, including 'big-band', rock, pop and contemporary music. Another highlight of their programme is that they have selected quite a few hit solo numbers by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elton John and transformed them into impressive choral numbers! Having started preparations for the concert in February this year, the group had initially followed the rather "Democratic" path of asking everyone to make their suggestions as to what the possible line-up should be. Thereafter, the choral directors and leaders had short-listed the songs, based on the feasibility of performing it and if it was in accordance to the theme of the concert. The group will be accompanied by Kamalinie Samarakoon and a 10-piece string ensemble with Christopher Prins on drums, and choreographed by Jerome L. De Silva. Guest artists will include Jehan Aloysius and Anjuli Gunaratne. Await an exploration of sound beyond the realms of the banal.

Main sponsors for this event are Pepsi Cola with Janashakthi Insurance, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC and CMPL Stevens coming in as Associate sponsors. The Official Print Media sponsor is The Sunday Times.