Giving Voice !

Art has no limits. It is not confined to a few. It has no barriers. It inspires and influences expressionism. There is something finely detailed and cultivated about art. It is its beauty of balance which unites all and links us with other cultures across the world.

ABRSM Representative for Sri Lanka and Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Chairman Mano Chanmugam

We are all born with an innate desire to express ourselves and art encompasses a wider range of activities than you may have ever imagined. Moreover art also has a therapeutic quality which soothes the mind and horns skills. More and more spaces need to come up to make it comfortable for people from all walks of life to see and enjoy art. This is where the Colombo Cultural Hub Trust (CCHT) comes into the picture. Their mission is to make Colombo the cultural centre for South Asia.

No bed of roses

“The project was proposed more than a year ago. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe beckoned Neomal De Alwis and myself to him and stated his wish to open Colombo for international art and cultural performances. He wished to divulge our culture to the rest of the world and bring in the cultures of other countries so that the future generation will have the opportunity of experiencing international cultural and art forms on local soil,” ABRSM Representative for Sri Lanka and Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Chairman Mano Chanmugam said. “On embarking on this mission, one of the major issues we have noted is that the performing and visual arts theaters in Colombo are not acoustically friendly. For example the Nelum Pokuna needs a lot of improvement for natural sounds. The new John De Silva Memorial Theatre, the renewed Elphinstone theatre and Navarangahala too fall under this category. We brought down an acoustics expert from England to look into this matter and he has given us basic instructions to improve Nelum Pokuna. We have been given three years to bring up the standards of these venues so that we will be the best in Asia,” Chanmugam added.

However he notes that it will take time to achieve this target. The path is no bed of roses and with limited funds in hand the mission is quite a challenge for the team. However considering the plus points that the project will reap for the country they are determined to overcome the hurdles and venture towards their goal.

The thirst for the arts is a magnet for foreigners to come and be a part in the activities. Therefore art related activities have always been a tremendous boost for cultural tourism in Sri Lanka.

The CCHT’s first step is to hold the Asia Pacific Choir Games in Sri Lanka. The event, a brainchild of INTERKULTUR, an international top address for major musical events in the choral community, will take place in Colombo from October 21 to 28. This will be the first time that an INTERKULTUR event will be held in South Asia. Thousands of competitors from different competing nations will perform in a variety of venues turning the city into a hub for Asia-Pacific choral music.

ABRSM Assistant Representative for Sri Lanka and Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Director of Operations  Neomal De Alwis

The public would get the opportunity to watch the choirs performing during the competition free of charge. There will be free entrance to the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the workshops. Though some of the special performances might be ticketed, students will be issued free passes or tickets at a concession rate.

Non professional choirs from across the world will take part in the event in the Open Competition, Asia Pacific Champions Competition and Grand Prix of Nations. Children’s choirs, youth choirs, adult choirs (mixed, male, female choirs), Musica Sacra a cappella, Musica Sacra with accompaniment, Gospel, Spiritual, music of spirit and faith, jazz, pop, show, folklore a cappella and folklore with accompaniment are the categories on offer. Evaluation performances (non-competing), individual coaching, singing together, friendship and celebration concerts in and around Colombo and the festival stage choir project are some of the other events that go along with the Asia Pacific Choir Games.

A learning experience

“INTERKULTUR has been organizing such events for around two decades. The principal event is the World Choir Games which is modeled upon the Olympics. It is held every two years. It took place in Russia in 2016 and the next one will be in South Africa in 2018. The Asia Pacific Choir Games is an event which leads up to the World Choir Games. It is almost like the Common Wealth Games or the SAARC Games which paves way for the Olympics,” said Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Director of Programs Soundarie David Rodrigo.

She noted that the international choir competition winners get world rankings and this makes them eligible to compete at a global competition of a bigger scale. More than 100 choirs have shown interest to fly to Sri Lanka to take part in the Asia Pacific Choir Games. However the team is expecting more than 4000 participants to join in. Local choirs too will be given a chance to take part as long as they meet the criteria of having taken part in an international choir competition or winning a national event or having gotten a recommendation from a council member.

The Asia Pacific Choir Games will not only be a centre of entertainment and competition but it will be a learning experience for many as well. A large number of renowned musical experts will be taking part in the event. They will be conducting workshops for schools and choirs. The CCHT team also hopes to get groups from all over the island including the North and East to take part in the event.

“When competitions of such international repute are being held abroad our local choirs cannot afford to venture to that country to take part in the event. It is a costly process where air tickets have to be bought and accommodation matters solved. They also have to pay registration fees. Since this event will be held in Sri Lanka local choirs are welcome to take part in the event without any hassle,” Chanmugam noted adding that other art forms too will be inculcated into the Asia Pacific Choir Games. They have already decided to include a street art parade to run parallel to the event.

Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Director of Programs  Soundarie David Rodrigo

The CCHT was set up as a public-private partnership and an outreach program which will reach out to every corner in the island. The trustees are Tower Hall Foundation Director General Lionel Fernando, University of Visual and Performing Arts Vice Chancellor Prof Sarath Amunugama, Central Cultural Fund Director General Prof Prishanta Gunawardena, and Arts Council Director Prof Chandraguptha Thenuwara.

Chanmugam noted that to get down the best artistes in the world is costly. The Prime Minister wishes to host a combined music festival where Bollywood meets Pakistan music. They have also spoken to the Russian Cultural Centre hoping to bring down a renowned ballet troupe.

“We wish to bring down the stars who are reigning in their fields today. It is not the stars from the past that we have in mind here. Since they are in demand it is very expensive to bring them down to Sri Lanka. We have brought down Danielle de Niese and Shani Diluka too will be coming to perform soon. These are artistes of Sri Lankan origin,” ABRSM Assistant Representative for Sri Lanka and Colombo Cultural Hub Trust Director of Operations Neomal De Alwis said.

Sri Lankans’ diverse

Another vision of the Prime Minister is to set up a professional state orchestra and a combined band orchestra using the armed forces. He has also entrusted the CCHT with the task of holding a national Baila Festival. “He knew how popular Baila is in the country and it will also appeal to countries like Portugal, Spain, Brizil, Russia etc. It will captivate masses and showcase Sri Lankans’ diverse talents to the world,” De Alwis noted adding that the CCHT is a platform which will take Sri Lankan aesthetic talents to the world.

They hope to promote women artists by linking them with Marie Alles. A film festival too is in talks for the future.

“All the great hits are currently being digitized at the National Film Corporation. Once that process is done we hope to screen these to the public. We hope to branch out to areas where we would form links with other countries and hold international film festivals in the coming years,” De Alwis explained.

Speaking about the enthusiasm towards choir music in Sri Lanka Rodrigo said that she feels that the musical genre has really caught up in the past few years. “I took the Holy Family Convent Senior Choir to an international competition in Wales for the first time in 2004. They were placed first runners up in the youth choir category. Then Soul Sounds was born, setting a trend so that other choirs too were motivated to compete at international competitions. The choristers get to interact with each other at such events and gain an array of experiences. Singing together really brings people together,” she opined.

Pictures by Sarath Peiris