Show style well achieved...
by Mahes Perera
 The
little town of Llangollen in Wales, United Kingdom was treated to a
‘charming’ performance by the Sri Lankan Soul Sounds Intermediate Choir
when they participated in the recently concluded Llangollen
International Musical Eisteddfod 2010. The Intermediate Choir of Soul
Sounds stuck a feather in their cap as this was the first time that a
mixed group of Sri Lankan singers between 10 and 18 emerged 9th overall
among 18 choirs in the Senior Children’s Choir category.
 A
happy Soundarie David Rodrigo, the committed Director of the choir, said
that, “In this little town of Wales, the festival had the media focusing
on the choir with their eye-catching costumes depicting the history of
Sri Lanka from the arrival of Arahat Mahinda as part of the celebratory
festival procession”. She added, “We also earned an interview slot with
BBC live. The procession was conceptualised and choreographed by Jerome
L. de Silva who is the Artistic Director of the choir”.
The Intermediate choir was awarded 172 points which was just nine
points behind the winner, how do you view their performance?
“We are extremely satisfied with the result. Our aim was to open the
eyes of these children to the immense opportunities of their musical
talent. So we internationally balanced the choir with the full age
range, rather than concentrate on the older age group as other
international choirs for competitive reasons”. The Choir performed two
songs ‘He lives In You’ from The Lion King and the Sri Lankan song Sora
Detuwek and earned the ready appreciative responses from the adjucators
which radiated happiness on the smiling faces of the youngsters.
A colourful and beautiful presentation expressive and smiling faces
made an immediate impact... the song. ‘He Lives In You’ was sung with a
strong energy and immediately communicated with the audience... Clear
diction and effective dynamic contrasts... A good ensemble and show
style is well achieved....”
The choir’s performances were backed by Soundarie David Rodrigo on
piano, Neranjan de Silva on keyboards and Christopher Prins on drums. If
you wish to relive the happiness of the choir you can view it all at
http//www.langollen.to/en/clip/13, the festival’s official website. |
