Revelations back with Hearts in Concert
View(s):A stripped back, bare essentials entertainment act, is hard to come by today. Yet, leading male choral group the Revelations have had the courage to bring their talent alone to the stage. The cumulative force of their voices can challenge an orchestra that is at full strength. To command an audience with voices alone is not an easy feat but the Revelations, with the energy of the music that they create, are known to bring audiences to their feet.
Now gearing up for their latest hot-ticket performance, Hearts in Concert, to be held at the Bishop’s College Auditorium on February 9 and 10 , the Revelations will be joined in this effort by the Methodist College Choir, OKTAVE, the Revelations Academy, Neranjan de Silva, Dharshi Edward, and Christopher Prins.
The Revelations were formed when a group of friends at S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia decided to test their collective talents at a concert titled Kaleidoscope at the Lionel Wendt Theatre in 1994. The powerful and intricate sound that their voices achieved proved such a hit, they stayed together to grow in voice and harmony. Since then they have performed to sell-out shows both in Sri Lanka and abroad.
They have their roots in gospel and spiritual music and it is this music that inspired their name, after the last book of the Bible. Directed and conducted by Sanjeev Jayaratnam, a co-founder of the Group who has been Choral Director since 2000, their repertoire encompasses classical, Barbershop, sacred, Gospel, pop, Doo-wop and musical theatre. Their first CD was Kaleidoscope, and they have since launched two more -Feel The Spirit, a Gospel selection, and Still Crazy, a collection of pop songs.
Their crowning moment came in 2008 at the World Choir Games held in Graz, Austria, where they took the title of ‘Champion of the World Choir Games’ in two categories: ‘Gospel & Spiritual’ and ‘Male Voice Ensemble’, as well as two gold medals and a silver medal in the ‘Popular Choral Music Ensemble’ category. On their return, the Cinnamon Grand Hotel hosted a concert to celebrate them aptly titled ‘We are the Champions’.
More recently they have been guest performers at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tomohon International Choral Competition & Symposium held in Indonesia in August 2010 and visited Malaysia in March 2012 to perform four concerts in Kuala Lampur, and on the resort island of Penang.
Proceeds from their Hearts in Concert will go to support the Children’s Heart Project (CHP), a registered, non-profit organisation, approved by the Sri Lankan Government that is working to help save Sri Lankan children born with potentially fatal congenital heart disease.
The Revelations approached CHP to support the charity’s latest project to build a human tissue bank that will act as a catalyst to improving operations conducted on children suffering from the disease. Once the hurdle of a successful operation is crossed, the majority of patients have a high chance of living a normal life.
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