Kindness is contagious: S. Thomas’ Preparatory School choral interpretation

Friday, 21 June 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The S. Thomas’ Preparatory School Choir directed by Lihan Mendis, Sachi Gamage and Pasan Ranaweera is proud to present ‘Be More Kind’, a performance dedicated to everyone out there living and serving in the name of love, compassion and empathy. The show features 35+ choristers between the ages of 11-16 who have been not only learning and immersing themselves in music, but also projects and experiences revolving around understanding kindness and empathy throughout the past six to seven months.

The kids have had grouped assignments such as researching and interviewing beggars, orphans and elders, to joint projects such as learning to cook (via Giovannis Pizzeria, Waters Edge, The Sushi Bar, and Bakes by Bella), taking care of pets (via Embark), growing and nurturing your own plants, and delving into Visual Identity (conducted by Tania Warnakulasuriya) where they select their own costumes for the concert as a representation of their personality to truly connect with the audience on a whole other level. The main theme of the show ‘Empathy’, was selected in order for the kids to be able to relate to a large variety of demography that would be present as the audience at the concert, allowing each of them to tell their own story in a way that would vibe with different people through the selected musical pieces.

This is further strengthened with the guidance of three great co-producers and old boys of the school Lihan Mendis, Sachi Gamage and Pasan Ranaweera who have been working with the kids on a very personal level, getting to know them and trying to bring out their individuality out on to the stage in a way that works with the community or family that these kids have created!

The kids also have the privilege of working with some amazing musicians such as Ranil Goonawardene, Tehani Tissera, Johann Peiris and Charith Fernando who have been rehearsing with them for just over a month, pushing their capabilities and giving the choristers a taste of the full professional experience. They cannot complete any of this without the hard work and intense sessions put in by their amazingly talented choreographer Umeshi Rajeendra who has done a magnificent job translating the lyrics into movement for these students.

The concert features music all the way from the ’60s to new releases from 2019 with arrangements apt for truly translating our message of kindness and love throughout the whole performance. The show will also see guest performances by the Old Boys Choir made up of Kusal Bandaranayake, Shamal Fernando, Jason Senanayake, Ashen Benson, Dilshan Fernando, Kevin Fernando, Sean Fernando, Shivane Fernando, Lihan Mendis, Pasan Ranaweera and Sachi Gamage.

They specially mentioned their sponsors Seylan Bank (Silver Sponsor), TNL Radio Networks (Exclusive Radio Partner) and Decibel.lk (Official Social Media Parter) for believing in their message especially during these hard times, and coming on board to support them!

The performances will be held on 29th (7 p.m.) and 30th (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at the Panibharatha Auditorium at the University of the Visual and Performing Arts with tickets available at the Prep School Office priced at Rs. 1,000 (Balcony), Rs. 1,500, Rs. 2,000, Rs. 2,250 and Rs. 2,500!