Waking up in the morning and heading off to bed at night, these days, it is hard to ignore that Christmassy feeling in the air – the chilly breeze that surrounds you and all those Christmas songs that have started playing on the radio and just in general that sense you get knowing that the Christmas, is in fact, just around the corner...
Someone who feels that it would be great to kick off the season with a different type of Christmas concert is Rohan de Lanerolle when Harpo Productions present It's Festive Time in the City.
Yes, the concert will be something quite different from the usual concerts this season as it will be a blend of songs from Broadway musicals along with well loved Christmas numbers.
"It will also be a change from the usual choirs singing during the season," Rohan adds. And the show will certainly stand out in the season because Rohan aside there will be guest performances by his brother Ishan de Lanerolle as well as a special appearance by Sri Lanka's premier all female ensemble, Soul Sounds. Another sweet treat for the audience will be the debuting of a 50 member kids choir Little Sopranos.
Why have a concert so early in the season, I asked Rohan, to which he answered "I feel the closer it gets to the Christmas rush the less time people have to come and watch a concert." And in fact, this will just be the start of the season for Rohan as well, as he will be performing with the Symphony Orchestra on December 14 and then on December 20 and 24 he and Ishan will performing at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore.
Collaborating at the piano will be concert pianist Soundarie David while Neranjan de Silva and Christo Prins will be on keyboards and drums, respectively. "Since it will be very early in December, it will be a nice opening to the season," says Neranjan while Christo says "what Rohan's done is something nice, as Broadway and Christmas adds variety to the usual Christmas concert." While they both added that it will be a typical Rohan-style concert with him being a great entertainer and allowing the audience to sing-a-long and be a part of the show.
With regard to Soul Sounds, Soundarie says they are practicing a number of Christmas songs at the moment and going with how they usually go about their performances, "we will select the songs then and there," she said, as it depends on the mood of the audience.
A cute treat for the evening will be the Little Sopranos consisting of kids between four and 12 years who will perform some entertaining numbers like "Rudolph" and "Santa Clause is coming to town." Speaking to Sonali de Soysa, the director of Little Sopranos, she said "Christmas is something that is loved by all," adding that having such a variety of songs, will be entertaining for everyone.
And speaking to Ishan, he said, "It will be nice to usher in the Christmas feeling as Christmas is in the air," and he stressed on the importance of remembering those who are less fortunate as well as the soldiers in the country during this season. He went on to say "Songs from Broadway musicals are numbers that are always in our minds and this will give people a chance to freshen up their minds once they hear the songs."
Rohan stated that the first half will consist of songs from musicals like 'South Pacific' and 'My Fair Lady' along with the famous "Ol' Man River" from the musical ‘Show Boat,’ (an amazing rendition by Ishan), just to name a few.
While "Go tell it on the mountain," "Blue Christmas," "O Holy Night," "When a Child is born" and a smooth and slow rendition of "Silent Night," will add the Christmassy feel to the evening, along with a Sinhala carol.
These are just a few of the items that will be performed and to know what more the concert has in store it is best to be part of it and grab those tickets early.
"I think we have the ideal selections and the proper ingredients, in terms of having the cream of Sri Lanka's musicians," says Rohan, adding, that it will definitely be a good show. So join Rohan and the rest of them at It's Festive Time in the City on Thursday December 4 at 7.30pm at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Tickets and box plan will be at the Wendt and will be priced at Rs. 1000, 750 and 500.
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