Junior Jazz takes over with Vocal Essence
A class in session
Attendees will be treated to an evening filled with Jazz music as the Vocal Essence School of singing, stages Junior Jazz, at the Russian Cultural Centre, Colombo 7, next Saturday (8), starting at 7.00 pm.
The genre is an acquired taste and most children as well as some adults would have nothing to do with it. However ,the same could not be said for the kids at Vocal Essence. They’ve been putting hours of practices, since the beginning of the year and are also enjoying the process, as their choir director Rapti Fernando tells us.
“We are really planned, because when we work with children, we know that they can only give us that one hour and we usually have one hour classes every week. However since the beginning of September, we put an additional two hours on Sunday,” she says.
Rapti and Nanga (JanakiAmarasuriya), who run the school in Nugegoda, have both been students of Mary Anne David. The pair had also worked under her for a while, before finally opening their own school, ‘Vocal Essence’, in 2009.
The school comprises of 25 students, between the ages of six to sixteen. They gather every Wednesday for an hour of practices. Some of the kids have been in the school for the past six months, while some had been training there for three to five years.
“There’s no enrolment date as such, so when they come, they just join and we carry on,” Rapti says.
In a typical class a good 15 to 20 minutes is devoted to technique. I’m really strict about it,” She tells us adding that they also do the physical exercises. The rest of the 40 minutes is spent working on the songs.
Team behind Vocal Essence. Pictures courtesy Vocal Essence/Theewra
Their theme and motto is learning in an absolutely fun environment. “So in our rehearsals, we do not go on and on, late into the night. We respect the fact that they are children and have limitations. But we try to harness all the talent,” she explains.
Junior Jazz promises a repertoire of a jazzy mix, covering Swing, Blues and Dixieland. The school had performed at the Jazz Unlimited show, held earlier last month at the CR and FC grounds. Their beautiful rhythm and perfect harmonies, combined with the saxophone skills of AkeelWitharana (15) and Nanga on the piano, earned them a good reception from the audience.
They look to do the same, stepping up their game with a carefully choreographed set. The backing band for the performance, will feature KethakaWeerasooriya (15) on drums, NamalKumarasiri on Base, Lydia Goonathileke on violin, Nanga on the piano and Akeel on the saxophone. Furthermore the show will also feature a performance by the school’s musical theatre group and their resident band ‘Plain- T’.
Tickets for the show are priced at 1000 rupees (free seating) and could be purchased by calling Nanga 0777769644 or Rapti 0773071987