Singing business

And there I was again…in the company of probably the most (pleasantly) unruly bunch of individuals I have met in a long time. But they are also easily one of the best groups of Sri Lankan vocalists to come together and perform, ever.

They joined me, oozing with all their hyperactivity and vigour, for a chat about their upcoming musical venture, making me wonder where they get all this energy from. Of course before that, we had to complete quite a time-consuming and "interesting" (to say the least) photoshoot…which I'm sure tested their fitness, flexibility and patience, among many other things!

Unfinished Business, will be the Revelations' latest performance, scheduled for September 23, at 6.30 p.m., and will be held at the newly opened Holy Family Convent Auditorium, Colombo 4.

The well-known male voice ensemble will present an eclectic collection of music in concert, and the performance will comprise several premiers and Sri Lankan debuts. Many pieces of music to be performed have been arranged specially for the Revelations by the Choral Director and Leader Sanjeev Jayaratnam.

What's important about the performance is the fact that it will be the final concert before they leave for the Asian Choir Games to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, one of the most prestigious international music competitions.

"This will be the final concert, from a number of concerts held recently by us, with the objective being to collect the funds we need to participate in the competition, to be held at the beginning of November. So we invite everybody to come for the concert and support us!" said Sanjeev.

The Revelations' initial performance was in 1994 when a group of old Thomian's came together to stage a male voice musical extravaganza, titled Kaleidoscope: Revelations in Concert. From the inception, the choral group has explored various musical styles and genres and also arranged their own versions of many popular favourites. Their repertoire includes, pop, jazz, barber shop, sacred, gospel, classical, doo-wop, and anything else in between, while they specialise in acapella singing.

The Revelations have also launched a CD titled "Kaleidoscope," which has been totally sold out. A host of concerts have been held by them throughout the years, with Strike a Chord, held in March 2007 and Good Vibrations held in May 2007, being some of the most recent.

The Revelations comprise well-known singers, thespians and musicians, known both locally and internationally, such as Sanjeev Jayaratnam, Asanka Perera, Christopher Godridge, Charith Peiris, Enaksha Fernando, Ishan de Lanerolle, Laknath Seneviratne, Mahen Peiris, Rohan de Lanerolle Jr, Srimanthaka Senanayake, and Trevis de Silva. "We will be doing some unique arrangements during this concert and it is sure to be entertaining, being the first time they will be performed in Sri Lanka, especially one arrangement of a Shubert piece," said Ishan Unfinished Business will bring to stage several genres of music, with the musical offerings spanning many centuries of music from Pop, Doo-wop, Classical, Gospel and Spirituals with songs by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Rutter and others. The concert will also have yet another speciality, with the Revelations being joined on stage by some special guest performers, a first for this choral group.

"The Merry-An singers directed by Mary-Ann David who has been extremely supportive of the Revelations for many years now, will join us. The Merry-An singers will also join the Revelations in performing a few popular favourites with a Revelations twist on them. And we will also have the Methodist College Choir joining us. The concert will also have a combination of the Revelations, the Merry-An singers and the Methodist College choir combining on stage.”

The accompanists for this performance would be Christopher Prins on Drums and Ayesha Casie Chetty on keyboards and piano. Costumes for the performance are designed and sponsored by Lou Ching Wong, while the stage manager for the night will be by Dilan Perera. Lighting will be done by Krishan Jayaratnam and Anasuya Subasinghe.

So come next Sunday, treat yourselves to some class acts by some of the best voices in the island. Just get yourself to the venue, and allow yourselves to be taken on a rhythmical journey, by these pros in the business of entertaining you.

Tickets for Unfinished Business will be available at Autodrome, 304, Union Place, Colombo 02 (Opposite Pizza Hut). And according to the guys, parking will not be a hassle, with ample space for parking available on Marine Drive.