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Soul Sounds first came into prominence as the
Holy Family Convent Senior choir, when under the
guidance of Soundarie David,
its Music Director, it won a Carol Competition in 1996.
The choir has grown from strength to strength over the
years, with many memorable
milestones.
The Llangollen Eistedfodd 2004
Mr. Gregory Rose,
a prominent conductor in the UK had heard the choir in
Colombo, and had thought that international exposure at
that point in their development would lead inevitably to future progress. The choir was rewarded for
its hard work when it was selected runner-up in the Youth Choir
category, at the
famous
International Eistedfodd Festival in Llangollen, Wales. One of its choristers, Dinushka Jayawickrema, was also selected to compete in
the solo vocal category. The choir performed
phenomenally, achieving 1st runners-up both in the Youth
Choir category as well as in the Solo
category entered for at the Festival.
The birth of Soul Sounds
Wales was a defining moment for the choir, especially
since most of the choristers were in the process of
finalising their secondary education and leaving school. The
members wanted to keep singing as an ensemble, instead of disbanding and
going their separate ways. They decided to come together
under the name Soul Sounds with Soundarie as Music Director and Jerome de Silva as
Artistic Director. While some members of the group
were unable to continue, new members have
since joined the
group. The new identity as Soul Sounds was
launched at its inaugural Christmas concert at the
(then) Colombo Plaza,
entitled Moods of Christmas on December 18 2004.
Moods of Christmas proved so popular it is now an
annual event at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, each
time with a new and varied Yuletide repertoire to
delight Colombo audiences.
Heart and Soul Sounds - a humanitarian project with international artistes
In January 2005 the choir came together
as one to work
towards a project to raise funds for the victims of the
devastating Asian tsunami of 26 December 2004. They were asked to
perform for a single, produced
by Mike Read, and set about their task lead by Soundarie
and the team. A group of expatriates and friends from England
served as the interface with the producer. Their effort beat all odds. The
record was a major project in England. It raised
millions for charity with the Sri Lankan choir Soul
Sounds sharing the stage with stars like Cliff
Richard, Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, Russell
Watson (the famed contemporary tenor), Robin and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Steve Winwood, Boy
George, Chicago and others. The record was released
throughout Europe on January 24.
Review
A CD was released for
Moods of Chistmas II in 2005,
Soul
of the Season.
Soul Sounds has been gaining a name for itself
not just in Sri Lanka but throughout the world. They
have often been privileged guest performers at major
functions of diplomatic missions in Colombo, winning
high praise from many Ambassadors and High
Commissioners.
4th World Choir Games, Xiamen, China 2006
and
5th World Choir Games, Graz, Austria 2008
The choir won two silver medals at
the
4th World Choir Games 2006. The
medals were based on the points awarded by an
international jury, in the Gospel & Spiritual
and Scenic Folklore categories.
They barely missed the 8,000 point mark which otherwise
would have won them Golds. The choir's average age
meant that it was among the youngest at this Choir Olympics, competing with more than 2000 choirs
from 60 countries.
The choir returned to compete in the
5th Games in Graz, Austria, in July 2008. They were
delighted to
surpass their previous performance winning three Golds, in the
all three categories, viz. Gospel and Spiritual Open,
Open Popular Choral Music and Open Folklore
in which they participated.
Australian International Concert Tour 2007
The choir performed for audiences in Perth, Sydney
and Melbourne in February 2007, which marked their first
international concert tour. Soon after, a CD, Soul
Sounds in Australia was released.
India, Kuwait, France and China
The choir was invited to perform by the Sri Lankan
Embassy in
Kuwait (April
2007). With the support of H.E. Nirupama Rao, the former
High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, the choir has
performed twice in Delhi, the first time at he Bhakthi
Utsav in 2006, and the second at The South Asian Band
Festival at the Old Fort (Purana Qilla) in February
2009. In April 2009, the girls were thrilled to visit
the beautiful Normandy coast, where all their
performances were greeted with standing ovations. The
choir returned to China, to perform at the prestigious
Forbidden City concert hall in Beijing in June 2009,
performing once again with the
Shillong Chamber Choir of India.
This was part of an initiative to both promote Tourism
in Sri Lanka and India, and strengthen ties with China,
once again with the assistance of H.E. Mrs. Rao, in
Beijing. These events occupy pride of place in the
Photo Gallery.
International Listings
Soul Sounds is listed on the website
British Choirs on the Net, under International
Choirs alongside numerous other
award-winning choirs from around the world.
The choir performs at many popular venues in Colombo,
including the Lionel Wendt Theatre and the Bishop's
College auditorium. They are frequently invited for
command performances at Embassies, High commissions and
corporate functions.
Neranjan de Silva, the choir's
Keyboardist and Audio Engineer probably sums it up best
: The secret of the
choir's success seems to be the fact that the girls love
what they are doing. They enjoy singing and are willing
to toil hard to achieve greater heights. They exhibit
enormous enthusiasm, motivation, and self confidence.
The girls are all characters in themselves with a lot of
variety and individuality.
2009 List of Members |
Milestones
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