Exploring their sound

Would I be able to interest you in taking a little journey with me? No? What if I were to tell you that we'd be travelling through a magical kingdom filled with music, laughter and good cheer… far, far away from the troubles and worries of the real world? Still not convinced? Well I can't really blame you. I wouldn't be convinced either. But, here's a thought. Since the whole touring 'Neverland' idea doesn't quite seem to do the trick, how about being a part of an 'exploration of sound' that promises to offer the very same package… except that it'll be taking place right here in the real world!

The expedition titled 'Evolution – Explore the Potential of Sound', presented by 'The Old Joes Choir' to mark their 10th Anniversary celebrations, will go on board at the Lionel Wendt theatre, on July 20-22, at 7.30 p.m.

Speaking to the three visionaries (Migara Luvis, Deshan Cooray and Eshantha Pieris), both as a collective and individually, it's not very hard to see why this concert will be nothing short of a hit! Whilst performing a selection of music from a range of eras, the music arrangements alone can speak for themselves. Although some arrangements have been taken straight off the shelf, many have been adjusted by the choral maestros to best suit the choir.

For instance, Migara created arrangements for most of the pop/rock numbers, as most often these types of songs don't have ready made choral arrangements, explained Eshantha. "Since we know the voice quality and strengths of the group, it only makes sense to create arrangements accordingly, he added.

"As a choir we've always tended to be a bit unconventional, as a result of which the music we produce is generally a direct reflection of the diverse personalities within the choir. The spirit of innovation is vividly displayed via the guy's eclectic tastes in music, which in turn determines the genres of music we perform," said Deshan of the type of music they do. "If you take the word 'Evolution', you'd find that words like change and adaptability are synonymous; to be able to survive the era you are born into. Likewise as a choir, it's vital that we too are adaptable to different styles and genres of music," he elaborated. Thus, emphasizing the adaptability of the choir through the wide range of musical genres included in their repertoire. "We've transformed conventional choral pieces into theatrical performances," he adds.

"As for the selection of songs, it was more like we short-listed them and then realized that many of them are conventionally acknowledged as solo numbers, it was not intentional," said Eshantha. They first take the context of each song, interpret the relevant mood of it and sing it accordingly. The programme has been split into three sections, with each of the three handling the style of music that they're best at; Migara, the pop/rock element, Deshan the more classical numbers, whilst Eshantha will deal more with the jazz/pop segment. "It's not that we don't help out with each other's segments, but more about who's got primary vision for which song," he explained.

The good thing about having three choral directors is that we look at most things from three different perspectives, said Eshantha. "Deshan's been with the choir for the longest, so has the most experience on how to get the best from them, Migara, even though he too has been singing for a while, brings in fresh insight and idea, whilst I draw from my experience of working with jazz and pop choirs abroad," he explained.

"As we've got a strong first tenor line and second bass line, we've got a wide range of voices and quality of voices to choose from, when it comes selecting just the right voice for a song," said Migara. When it comes to some arrangements, more than re-creating them from scratch, we had to transpose it to a key that the choir could do it most justice and sometimes even convert it from a SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) arrangement to a TTBB (Tenor one, Tenor two, Bass one and Bass two) one, he added. Or sometimes even adjust the tempo to best suit the choir.

"Deshan and Eshantha helped me out a lot in my work and even the choir has been very dedicated all through out, especially since we started practices off in February. The Choir leaders too really worked hard to get the guys together and get the show on the road. We appreciate everything Kamalinie's done for us, supporting us through the years," he said gratefully.

"One of the best things about the choir is the good company," says Rehan Almeida who's taking part in his first show with the choir. Although he's sung with the choir for the past two carol services, this is his first concert with them, he says. "It's quite funny how I came to be in the choir actually, as Deshan asked me to join, after hearing me sing in the bus, while on the choir trip for Evolution II (for which he was Asst. Stage Manager)," he said laughing. "It was the most informal audition anyone's ever had'" quipped Deshan, adding that he was in fact listening intently to Rehan and that he wasn't simply selected randomly!

"Another great part of being a part of this group is that even after a considerably long and tiring practice, the guys take some time off to kick back, relax and have a good jam session," adds Rehan enthusiastically. "Also taking into account the diverse backgrounds we all come from, we can usually talk about anything and everything, from medicine, to law, to sports or economics, we've got everything covered," he said gleefully.

Having heard from a first timer performing with the choir, we now hear the words of wisdom from the oldest member (not in age he emphasizes) of the group – Dilhan de Silva. Having started out with only doing guest performances at the College carols, the Old Joes choir initially attempted mainly spiritual numbers, under the direction of Ms. Priyanthie Seneviratne, he said.

This was up until their performance at 'Preghiera' in 1999, after which the choir started looking inward at their own resources, he said.

The choir's guest spot at 'Circle of Life' organized by Synergy, was the first public performance they did under the direction of Deshan. Thereafter, they broadened their horizons to singing at the Symphony Orchestra Carols Services, Jehan Aloysius's musical 'Rag', the College production of 'Prince of Egypt' and of course Evolution I & II, he added. “Ten years down the road, I think we have in fact evolved a lot and more importantly, enjoyed every second of it," he said contently.

The choir will be accompanied by Kamalinie Samarakoon and a 10-piece string ensemble with Christopher Prins on drums and Dulika Jayamanne on Congo drums. The choreography will be handled by Jerome L. De Silva and guest artists will include Jehan Aloysius and Anjuli Gunaratne.

For a refreshing break from the old routine…come 'explore the potential of sound'!

Main sponsors for this event are Pepsi Cola, with Janashakthi Insurance, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC and CMPL Stephen, coming in as Associate sponsors. The Official Print Media sponsor is The Sunday Times and the Official Electronic Media sponsors are Channel One MTV and Yes FM.

Tickets will be available at the Lionel Wendt. There will be a shuttle service in operation from 6.30-7.30 p.m., from Maitland Crescent to the Wendt, on all show nights.