Soul Sounds win two 'Gold Diplomas'

The Soul Sounds Academy Choir, the junior body of the award winning Soul Sounds, Sri Lanka's premiere female ensemble, brought glory to the country, when they were awarded two 'Gold Diplomas' at the Asia Pacific Choir Games in Indonesia last week.

The choir is directed by well-known musician Soundarie David Rodrigo, and was conducted by Senior Soul Sounds Chorister Lilanka Botejue. The choir unlike the main body Soul Sounds, is a mixed choir, consisting of girls and boys from the Soul Sounds Academy, ages ranging from 14 - 26.

The 1st Asian Choir Games was held in Jakarta in 2007, and this was the start of the largest international event for amateur choirs in Asia and ever since Interkulter- the German organising body has continued the tradition of the Asia Games, with the 2nd being held in Korea.

Sri Lankan Choirs have excelled at these competitions for choirs, and the latest being the Soul Sounds Academy Choir. The 3rd Asian Pacific Choir Games was organised by Interkulter in collaboration with the Provincial Government of North Sulawesi, and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia.

The choir entered two categories in the Open Competition for non-professional choirs, competing with other choirs from Indonesia mainly. Bronze, Silver and Gold diplomas are awarded to choirs that qualify, gold being the highest for all choirs who score more than 80 points. The Academy Choir was placed 2nd in the Gold Category for the Pop and Jazz category with high scores given by all adjudicators.

The panel of adjudicators from all over the globe were judges at the Choir Games. The Soul Sounds Academy Choir stood out for their overall presentation, musicality and selection of songs for both categories.

The second win was in the scenic folklore category where their interpretation of Sri Lankan folk songs mesmerised the audiences and judges alike. Choreography was directed by the well known Jerome. L. De Silva, and costumes were executed by Jo Jo.

The Soul Sounds Academy Choir started with approximately 15 students who have now grown not only in number but as individuals with an incredible passion for music. The Academy currently consists of over 150 members with a diverse age range of 5 - 26 years of age.

SSAC performed at the "Mother Sri Lanka Awards" which was held in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in June 2010.

The choir has also received exposure and experience on international platforms such as the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) held in Colombo in June 2010. The Choir's repertoire consists of all forms of music, from Classical to Pop and Jazz.

They recently had a performance of Karl Jenkins Mass for Peace which was received well by audiences in the country. Soul Sounds Academy is Sri Lanka's specialised academy of music focusing on choral music, piano, violin, guitar and other classes for all students who are passionate about music and performing arts.

Soul Sounds Academy Choir's win with two gold diplomas at the Asia Pacific Choir Games is testimony to the wealth of talent that Sri Lankans have in music especially choral music.