Visakhians Highlight Sri Lankan Talent In Malaysia

By Dilini Perera

I hear excited chatter as I walk into the practice area at Visakha and the reason is obvious. This is their first practice after winning a Gold Diploma at the 8th Choral Eisteddfod held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As the choir broke out into a spirited rendition of Proud Mary with their choral director, I sat down with the teacher-in-charge to speak about their journey and experiences.

Vajira Nanayakkara, the teacher-in-charge for the past 20 years and believes wrongly that it’s indeed time to quit, is immensely proud of her students. The choir, which began in 1990 under the tutelage of the late Lylie Godridge, has trained under a few choir directors such as Eshantha De Andrado and Willie Godridge. “Sanjeev Jayaratnam , who joined in August last year, has had an amazing impact on the students. We have to thank him for his tireless efforts. The children responded so well to him”.
The brainchild of Sanjeev, the choir entered the competition because he felt that they had lots of potential to compete on an international level. Meneka De Fonseka, an old girl graciously accepted the invitation to be the accompanist for the choir in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, according to Vajira, the authorities weren’t so accommodating when it came to making arrangements. “It seems that sports are the only thing that gets recognition. Why aren’t they encouraging musicians? The staff of the Sri Lankan High Commission in Malaysia was a great strength to us and we want to thank them for being so helpful,” she smiled before adding “being a premier government school, they’re more focused on studies, but we practiced for two hours every week and now we have seen the results”.

When asked what was in store for the Visakha choir, she stated, “This is not the end, it’s just the beginning.”

The choirs were required to perform four songs and Visakha  performed the songs Viva la Vida by Coldplay, Music Spread Thy Voice by Handel and acapella versions of Ganga Addara and If Ever I Would Leave You from Camelot, managing to clinch a Gold Diploma, only narrowly losing out to a Malaysian Choir in the category.

When asked what it was like working with the choir, Sanjeev replied cheekily, “Horrible” which elicited many groans and cries of protest. It is easy to see the rapport between him and the students as they joke about everything from costumes to members of other choirs.

On a more serious note he elaborated, “It was tough for the simple reason that I’ve been working with them since August. We have definitely come a long way. We have improved in leaps and bounds but we still have a long way to go. They’re a good bunch of kids. Apart from the occasional moments of frustration and annoyance, they are a joy to work with.”

The choir got rave reviews while in Malaysia. “When Johnathan Velasco, a famous choral director from the Philippines saw that they were about to tackle If Ever I Would Leave You in acapella, he was initially worried. Then when he heard the first few bars, he thought ‘wow’”.

I posed the same question to Sanjeev with regard to the future of the choir and a look of determination crossed his face. “Each choir has a different character. We have really good tone. Now that we have done this, we can’t relax, we must keep working. I want to work on volume with them and also improve on our repertoire”.

The girls themselves are a lively bunch and apart from a few thoughtful silences, filled the air with chatter and laughter. When asked how people were reacting to their win, most of them said that friends and parents were amazed. “It was a really big deal” they laughed.

“We realised just how big this was, when we got out of the dressing room.” They said with regard to their pre-show nerves.

Competing in an international arena is no mean feat and these girls have taken it in their stride. There is evident pride but no arrogance and they are quick to praise the other choirs as often as point out the weaknesses in themselves. Considering that they were up against a few full-time music schools, when all they could practice was once a week, it says a lot about their dedication but most of all their sheer talent.

“We learnt time management and discipline and from the other choirs, we learned how to be free on stage and also a few moves” they said, demonstrating a few complicated manoeuvres. “We got to know each other really well. We bonded”, they smiled before Sanjeev asked them if actual glue was used in the process, causing another outbreak of groans and laughter.

As they broke out into an energetic Viva la Vida and ended with an impressive performance of If Ever I Would Leave You that left me covered in goose bumps, it is easy to see how far this choir has come. They are indeed worthy winners and are worthy of recognition for bringing glory to Sri Lanka. We can’t wait to see what comes next.