Mirror Magazine - A walk on Musical Boulevard

With the primary, junior, intermediate and senior choirs coming together for the first time, Musaeus College plans to entertain audiences with a vibrant choral concert next weekend. Musical Boulevard, will have the choirs, which have participated in a number of festivals of music and song, and won first place at all-island level, sing and perform tuneful melodies and songs from the past and the present.

Giving the opportunity for students to portray their talents and skills, the concert will be a celebration of their love for music. The show will be held on August 18 at 6.30 p.m., while the venue will be the Bishop’s College auditorium.

The concert is a mixture of musicals, pop and jazz, and a little bit of drama thrown in to bring out the talent and the character of the songs. Inspired by N. K. Pilapitiya, the principal of Musaeus College, to put on this show, the choristers are trained and directed by Subashini Talwatte. The creative choreography is handled by Menik Neydorff, while the choir will be accompanied by Zahara Vilcassim on keyboards and Mariam Wadood, on the piano.

According to Ms. Talwatte, the concert starts with a love theme, and then breaks into various other sections. The seniors and intermediates will take the stage in their theme songs on love, which are to be sung with great passion and beautifully rendered in well-modulated tones. Naduni Balasuriya and Irandi Kuruppu with their interpretation of “Love Never Fails” and “Love Is A Splendid Thing” promise to give the audience something to remember. Isuri Munasinghe, an all-island winner, will perform “Greatest Love Of All” with the rest of the choir chipping in to make it a fitting end to the first session of the programme.

Doing a few hits from The Sound Of Music, this session will see the choir bring well-known classics to life. Naduni Abeywardana, a soprano, will set the pace in the opening song “Sound Of Music.” Dhanushka Dodangollegama and Heshara Ranasinghe, both of whom are all-island winners, plan to give a very different version of “Going On Sixteen,” while the leader of the soprano section Piyumi Wijewickrama will give a performance of Mother Abbess, which will surely transport the audience back to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound Of Music.

The younger girls of the primary section will add rhythm and character with their contributions from Snow White and Bare Necessities. The junior choir will take the stage next with Cinderella and Little Mermaid, both with a high sense of drama in it. The highly choreographed pop and jazz session will give the performance a new look, while the session ends with a few Sinhala numbers thrown in.

The senior choir will then offer a medley from My Fair Lady and Piyumi Wijewickrama, yet another all-island winner, will render her voice for “Loverly” and “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Yehani Weerasinghe, as the dashing young Freddy will give a convincing performance of “On A Street Where You Live.” The final of the performance is from Aladdin with all the magic of the Arabian nights brought to life, as the young prince and princess’ dance bring the curtain down with “A Whole New World,” along with the rest of the choir accompanying. Almost 50 items make up the schedule for the night.

Speaking to a few of the talented choristers, the production seems to be a great experience for all of them. “Since this is the first time all the choirs are involved in one big production, the experience is wonderful,” says Thiromi Ranasinghe (17), a member of the senior choir. “Our capabilities and range have been identified, and very talented soloists and so on have emerged.” The entire number of participants in the performance is close to 200, and Piyara Mallawathanthri feels that the experience has helped the choir bond as a whole.

“We have all given our fullest commitment for the production, and though it has been a little difficult for most of us to handle the production and studies, especially for the seniors with examinations on the way, our teacher has been extremely supportive, so the task has been made easier,” added Thiromi.