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From
the depths of their souls There is a photo shoot going on at the centre of the grey largely empty auditorium. It’s hot under the lights, and the entire colourfully attired choir steams – make-up and all – as they wait for the photographer to take their picture. It’s a boring process and keeping the megawatt smile on all the time borders on torture. The oppressive silence is suddenly broken by music as a few girls begin to sing. As “Oh, Happy Day” echoes around the hall the entire choir is soon laughing and having fun, as they sing for their audience of ten. The choir is Soul Sounds and the concert is Celebrating Wales. Just over a year ago, the girls held a much larger, much grander international audience in the palms of their hands. Poised, confident and spectacularly talented, the Holy Family Convent Youth Choir outshone choirs from other countries (such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, the United States of America, and Sweden) at the 58th Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. They were the 1st runners-up in the youth choir category, coming in second only to Wales. Wales was something of a defining moment for the Familians. For the senior choir, just getting ready to leave school, the win changed a lot of things. For starters, the choir wanted to keep singing, instead of disbanding and going their own ways after school. They decided to come together under the name Soul Sounds, with Soundari David doing the music direction and Jerome de Silva as the manager of the group. While some of the members of the group were unable to remain, new singers have joined since last year, making up nearly 30 singers in the choir. “Wales was almost like a dream,” Soundari reminisces, “the whole atmosphere… just being there was wonderful.” She is justifiably proud of her choir. “They’ve been out there and sung with choirs all over the world,” she says. And as I sit there listening, I realise there is something special about this choir. It’s not only that they’re good enough to have won an international award, but it’s that ‘something’ they have – an indefinable chemistry that makes them sound and look great together. In fact Soundari herself considers that their strongest asset. “I just wanted them to keep going,” she says, “because I knew they had this connection… they gelled together perfectly.” Andrea Melder, currently the group leader exemplifies that attitude of Soul Sounds when she assures me that she doesn’t consider herself a leader. “We’re all here, because we love music,” and to her it’s as simple as that. It’s obvious that the girls feel the same way. From the youngest who is 14 and still at HFC to the oldest who is 24 and working – the choir forms a very close knit group. “We have a lot of sisters in the group,” says Andrea, and in case you were wondering, she means that literally. Not only have they all gone to the same school, bonded over an international competition and sung together for years – some of them are even related. There’s just no way to fake that sort of connection. They’re also very determined and hardworking; something which the latest “honorary” addition to Soul Sounds can testify to. Shanti Faiia, who will be singing with the choir for the next year or so, brings with her valuable experiences from her time as an a capella singer in the U.S. Soul Sounds will be making their first attempt at a capella (choral music sung without instrumental accompaniment) with Shanti’s help. The result of the collaboration is the “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” done with a whole range of sound effects that are as appealing as they are inventive. Also playing a crucial role in the show are Dinushka Jayawickramasinghe and Shehara Liyanage. Dinushka, who won the second prize as a soloist in Wales (singing the highly appropriate “Hark, Hark! The Lark”), will be doing a medley of Smile and People for Celebrating Wales. Joining her for a duet is her long-time friend and fellow chorister Shehara. The two will be singing “The Prayer”, a song I’m sure they will more than do justice to, having heard both of them sing. Just a little pointer – remember to watch out for Shehara when they perform “Oh, Happy Day”. Phew… what a voice! Celebrating Wales promises to have something for everyone. The group will be doing a couple of medleys from musicals as well as a selection of Irvin Berlin compositions, a Tamil song, and their award winning “Mangala Mohotha” by Mignonne Fernando, among many other numbers. Apart from the singing (which for obvious reasons there’s a lot off), Soul Sounds under the direction of Jerome de Silva has some really snazzy choreography planned for the show. With the help of Michelle Joseph of Soul Sounds, Jerome has been getting the girls to move it like they really feel it. What with the top hats and the fantastic costumes, the event promises to be the musical extravaganza of the year. “We’re very grateful to Jerome for all he’s done for us,” says Andrea, explaining that Jerome has been crucial to not only the look of the show, but to the girls’ well being as well. The Holy Family Convent as well as the Past Pupils’ Association of the school are bursting with pleasure over the accomplishment of their girls. It is in fact, the Past Pupils’ Association (PPA) who are the organisers behind Celebrating Wales. “We are very proud of our girls,” says Shiromi Misso President of the PPA, going on to add that the show is all about remembering and celebrating a very remarkable achievement. The event is to be the annual fundraiser for the PPA, with all proceeds going towards PPA projects, namely a retirement home for ex-Familians. The PPA will also be raising funds through www.hfcb.lk, the official website for the Holy Family Convent. Celebrating Wales will be held on August 20 and 21, 2005 from 7.00 p.m. onwards at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. Tickets are priced at Rs. 1000, Rs. 600, Rs. 400 and Rs. 250 and are available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, the H.F.C. primary school office, Mocher Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. in Nawala and Salon Janet in Ward Place and Mount Lavinia. |
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