Lights dim on Reach Light

The Grand Finale of Reach Light was held on Friday November 2, 2007 at the Peoples' Church, Narahenpita. Reach Light is a unique event organised by the Reach Team (www.reachbeyondlimits.com) as an alternative to your average music competition.

Over the past several weeks twenty five young people competed with each other, culminating in the grand finale. The five talented finalists were Romany Arrowsmith, Shehan Wanigasekera, Ranshan Gomez, Franco Gunasekara and Jeremy Mc Shane.

Many young people across the city took the bold step of auditioning before a panel of judges, for a chance to participate in this very special event. Each week two participants were selected from among them to make it to the semi-finals.

The decision comprised of points awarded by the judges and votes cast by the live audience. Few made it to the final round, but despite the cliché, everyone truly was a winner in the end! Many participants were accompanied by the Reach Band, while others brought their own back-up bands along. Given the fact that Reach Light was a gospel music competition, it was filled with some very unique choices of music. The five finalists had distinctly different styles and chose songs from various genres. Romany Arrowsmith, who was a strong candidate from the beginning, won the final round with her song "My Redeemer Lives" (by Nicole C. Mullen), which she sang magnificently.

Well known personalities in the music industry contributed to the success of Reach Light by acting as judges and by adding to the quality of the event by performing as gust artists. The members of the panel of judges at the grand finale were Noeline Honter, Maxie Rosairo and Piyal Perera.

Those who stood up to the challenge obviously reaped tremendous benefits in terms of exposure to the music world, in terms of learning new techniques and gaining experience, as well as in terms of being able to avail themselves of numerous once-in-a-life-time opportunities stemming from this single event - which was open to the public, for no charge at all.

The prizes awarded at the grand finale, including a choice between an organ and guitar plus an Mp4 player (First Prize) and numerous other exciting prizes, were sponsored by Yamaha and Bass. In addition to all this, every participant received an Mp3 player and a free CD (courtesy of Natasha Ratnayake) as a special prize for their spunk and willingness to seize this one-of-a-kind opportunity. The winner, Romany Arrowsmith, also has the enviable opportunity of having her single recorded courtesy of the Hit Factory.