Bringing ‘Different Voices’ together
Better known as one half of the renowned duo, the De Lanerolle brothers, Ishan De Lanerolle is a firm believer that anyone can sing,given the proper guidance.
Pic by Indika Handuwala
It is this thinking which led him to start ‘The Voice’ almost four years ago, which has grown into 200 plus students since then. ‘The Voice’ will be staging the second edition of their concert ‘Different Voices’ on June 1 and 2 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.
This week we met up with Ishan, who gave us a little insight into his classes and also what we could expect at the concert.
Ishan grew up in a setting that taught based on the common belief that if one couldn’t pitch, they couldn’t sing. But he recalls a different outcome in an instance when he was in India, helping the choir of a local church. “At the time an African guy came up to me and said ‘I want to join the choir’ in a very deep voice,” Ishan relates with his famous bass voice.
Thrilled at the opportunity, because of the way he spoke, Ishan agreed. But as the next day came, he realized that the student couldn’t pitch a single note. So Ishan would sing the parts to him and take him to the pipe organ after practices, just to see his progress. Ishan was says he was unsure know whether it was possible to teach him at the time, because he was taught that it was not. But one day as the rest of the basses fumbled with their parts and a stressed Ishan paced up and down, he heard the student trying to sing over them. This made him worry that things might get worse. But as he listened, he heard him get a few parts right. So he stopped the rest of the choir and got him to sing alone.
“He was in perfect pitch and I jumped so high for joy,” he tells me adding that in that moment he knew that anyone could be taught to sing. It is for this reason that Ishan never auditions any of his students. He looks at it as a challenge and admits that it takes a lot of patience on both sides.
He explains that with voice training, you have to focus on the voice alone. “In most instances what happens is that only the ‘best are picked as soloists. But I feel all my students are the best.” This is why all of his senior students will sing a solo.
He acknowledges that one must also understand the background these children come from, because some of them struggle to pitch. The point is however, to build up their confidence, for them to sing alone on stage. And “as a teacher that is the most challenging part, because even though you teach them everything, you’d have to take a step back and watch them go on stage and sing and this although exciting is also nerve wrecking,” he tells me. Where the music is concerned Ishan works with different genres – Broadway, Jazz, Pop and even modern music.
With so many soloists, Ishan also gives them the option of choosing their own songs. He would only step in to observe if they can work with the song. Thereby the show in itself is very diverse and “there’s a little something for everyone.”
The main aspect for Ishan is that his students have fun, he tells us adding that they enjoy themselves tremendously. ‘The Voice’ comprises students of three age groups, which are the four to seven year group (the juniors), eight to thirteen (the intermediate group) and fourteen and above (the seniors). Ishan enjoys teaching them and his students seem to like his style too.
The class also includes a few children with special needs. Ishan also believes that each class is a learning experience for all his students who also learn and derive strength from each other.
I am told that the all the students from the intermediate group and above will be also be dancing whilst singing, which Ishan hopes will also make the performance quite interesting. He adds that they are carefully choreographed by Michelle Mortier.
As our conversation comes to a close, Ishan tells me he just wants his students to be happy and have the confidence to perform as a soloist. “If they do build up their confidence at this stage, they’ll find that anything in life is achievable.”
He adds that the audience could expect an evening of fun, whilst also witnessing what these children are capable of.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 3000 and below for reservations contact 0771872251.