Arts
Everybody wants to sing for ‘Aunty Mary Anne’
Let’s go on with the show: Mary Anne David with her students. Pic by Indika Handuwala
When we drop by Calvin Hall in Wellawatte on a rainy Saturday evening, the hall reverberates with the collective vocal strength of many people. Tired they may be, but their high spirits are clearly evident.
This is an interesting crew – the young sit with the old, the experienced mingle with the amateur and they all look at their taskmaster Mary Anne David and her husband, Andrew, with great fondness. She could ask them to do handstands right now and they’d do it.
We’re here because these students are putting on a show titled ‘Viva voce- Tribute to a Legend’ to celebrate Mary Anne’s 47th anniversary as a teacher of vocal music.
Forty seven is an unusual milestone some may say, but then again most things about Mary Anne are quite unusual. She’s without doubt one of Sri Lanka’s most beloved vocal instructors, and still commands the attention and respect of the country’s most well known musicians. If you have a big show coming on, you go to Aunty Mary Anne, they say.
“This is just over half the group, by the way,” says Kumudini David as she struggles to be heard over the music. Kumudini has trained with Mary Anne for 17 years and confidently says “once a Merry-An Singer, always a Merry-An Singer” (Mary Anne’s vocal group is ‘The Merry-An-Singers’).
She laughingly tells us that her bottle of water is already a litre down-and she’s only been there for 15 minutes. “These rehearsals can really take a lot out of you but that’s the great thing about working with Aunty Mary Anne. She instils a certain discipline and confidence in you that you carry throughout life.”
This is a sentiment that peppers conversation when we chat to other older students. “With Aunty Mary Anne what you learn is for life,” says Kumudhini Shanmugalingam.
“All these years later you still carry yourself a certain way because that’s what you learnt with her.” Kumudhini, like many of her contemporaries, turned to Mary Anne when life threw a few curveballs her way and says that she learnt to face adversity with resilience from her mentor.
“She will always, always welcome you. There’s never a time that you can’t pick up the phone and give her a buzz.”
Radio personality Chrysantha Perera echoes similar sentiments, noting that he hadn’t trained with Mary Anne in a long time but “I immediately felt the difference after I returned for rehearsals for this show.”
Kanishka Herat, who too returns after a few years, observes that the atmosphere is a little changed, but “rehearsals are as fun and energetic as ever.” You’ll know Kanishka better for his work in theatre, but he has trained with Mary Anne since he was young and says “I’ll always have the highest respect for Aunty.”
The younger performers, still in school but mingling with all these extraordinary voices say that the experience has been surreal and full of fun. “Everyone here is so open and friendly,” notes Dehara Waidyasekara and Isurika Perera concurs-“they’ve all been really helpful and chat with us. It’s nice to be able to sing with them.”
The show will feature a selection of cross genre favourites from former Merry-An Singers’ concerts — music that many older students remember with affection (back in the day, they would grumble because a particular song had been sung too many times at rehearsals-says a student in confidence-“but now it feels really good to be singing the same song again, after so long!”).
Mary Anne will direct much of the show, and says she is blessed to have so many wonderful students who flock to her side at a moment’s notice.
Kavitha Mohotti and Asoka Pieris, members of the organising committee, say that this show is a tribute to all that Mary Anne means to her students.
They’re not the same carefree young souls that went to ‘Aunty Mary Anne’ for weekly vocal lessons- jobs, families and other commitments have taken that place in their schedules now.
But the older students have still come in their numbers, happily turning up for gruelling evening rehearsals-even on a rainy Saturday night like this.
“Mary Anne has a profound effect on everyone she teaches,” says Asoka and Kavitha agrees-“she’s honestly like a second mother to most of us. We didn’t have to think twice about this commitment.”
‘Viva Voce – Tribute to a Legend-celebrating the life-long work of Mary Anne David’ is on February 5 and 6 from 7. 30 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt. Tickets are priced at Rs. 3000, 2000, 1000 and 600 (balcony). The box plan is available at the Wendt.