Soul Sounds to compete in Asia Pacific Choir Games

By Mahes Perera

The time has come for the staging of the Asia Pacific Choir Games which will be held in Manado, Indonesia from October 14 to 19. The Choir Games, a competition for choirs in the Asia Pacific Region is the third competition since its inception in 2007 when the first competition was held in Jakarta. This was the start of a new series of INTERKULTUR on a continental basis.

The second Asian Choir Games was held in 2009 hosted in Gyeongnam Province of South Korea. This year in October INTERKULTUR is co-operating with the Provincial Government of North Sulawesi, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Soul Sounds Academy Choir will be the only choir representing Sri Lanka and we were fortunate in meeting Soundarie David, the Director of the Academy, who despite a heavy schedule, took time off to have a conversation with us.

Question: How significant is a competition in the Asia Pacific region in comparison to an European one?

Answer: "I think it is a great opportunity for the next generation of singers following the steps of Soul Sounds. Many of the young singers were among the finalists at the Llangollen International Musical in Wales 2010. This competition is not an opportunity to explore standards and compete on an international platform. It is a learning experience to listen to other choirs and learn from them."

Q: Competition no doubt will be intense and challenging, what is the average age of the choir members and what categories have you chosen for their performances?

A: The ages of the young choir members range from 14 to 25 and we have a mix of girls and boys. The choir will be competing in two categories. The Popular Music Category and the Scenic Folklore category. The enthusiasm of the members is encouraging. They have been working very hard and just the experience of working towards a competition, I feel, makes them stronger in terms of the vocal blend, technique and quality and this has given them greater self-confidence and enhanced their personality.

Q: Quite naturally you will be the pianist for the choir. Are you augmenting the music section?

A: Yes, with Christopher Prins on drums. Of course I cannot leave out our artistic director. Jerome L. de Silva who has always helped us with stage presence and choreography. The Soul Sounds Academy Choir will be the only choir representing Sri Lanka at the Asia Pacific Games this year.

Q: How confident are you that the choir will turn up trumps this year?

A: I'm sure they will. They have displayed a lot of dedication and have rehearsed almost daily for this big day. They need to win!

The Soul Sounds Academy Choir, which is the intermediate Choir of the well-known internationally acclaimed Soul Sounds was the first choir to place Sri Lanka on the map of International Choral Music.

The Academy Choir is led and directed by Soundarie David Rodrigo, who is the music director of Sri Lanka's premier female ensemble. The artistic director is the well-known theatre personality Jerome L. de Silva.

The choir has been in existence for almost a decade, and now since its inception the choir has not only grown in numbers but also 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. Apart from their numerous performances at home, the choir has received exposure and experience on international platforms such as International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) in Colombo.

The choir competed in the Senior Children's category at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod competition in Wales in July 2010 where they were named the Most Colourful performance in terms of style in Music.

The Asia Pacific Choir Games competition is divided into three individual competitions - Local Open Competition, Indonesian Open Competition and Champions Competition.

Participation is the highest honour.Therefore, any non-professional choir may participate in the Indonesian Open Competition, regardless of their present artistic level of achievement and the country they come from. The special thing about this competition is that choirs competing in the Local Open Competition can qualify for the Champions Competition by being awarded a Golden Diploma.

The evaluation of all performances will be the same according to the Musica Mundi Evaluation System.