By Kaushik Rangaraj (17S06P) and Sabariesh Ilankathir (17A13A)
“Vocal Delights was a very relaxed concert with great music, and was definitely one of the best performances of all the concerts I have been to.”
As aptly described by Wei Lin (17S03N), Vocal Delights was not just a night of enjoyment for the viewers, but also a first class showcase of the best singing talents in town.
As an annual charity concert to give the Choralists an opportunity to give back to the community, Vocal Delights is an initiative both admirable and praiseworthy. This year, Chorale chose to work with Habitat for Humanity Singapore (HFH), and participated in a home cleaning cycle with HFH before their performance so as to further enrich their experience.
The acappella groups were awesome from the start to the end, awing the audience with their highly gifted and seasoned voices combining to sing many crowd favourites. We were particularly enthralled by Fringe’s rendition of Northern Lights. This was, along with Harmonix’s “That’s Christmas”, one of the highlights of the acappella performances that night. In the words of Navneeth (17S03N), an audience member, “I don’t often say this about many performances but it really was a magical experience that, invoked [in me] that Christmas spirit that everyone talks about.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Another crowd-favorite was Weekday, and the reason was clear for all to see. They sang a mashup of Bieber songs which got the crowd up on their feet and clap along.
Although the acappella performances seemed a little uneven at times in terms of quality, preparation and presentation, that’s not what stuck in our heads at the end of the day. Despite some minor hiccups and mishaps, the concert, as a whole, seamlessly transported us into the festive season.
Harmonix singing their hearts out
The Weekday belting out another crowd favourite
Best Superbest, in particular, deserves a special mention here. This group consisted of a huge number of people who combined to perform 2 songs arranged by Reno, a graduating Choralist., Also by Reno was a mind blowing original composition, A Little Christmas Hymn, which the authors especially enjoyed. The songs were really skilfully performed, and the original composition was really soothing to the ears
Ganesh, a member of Weekday and Fringe, had a word of praise for them, saying, “To me, the most inspiring performance was that by Best Superbest. They tackled some insanely technical music and the original composition was breathtaking to me.”
Even with the many high-calibre acts, P.U.N.C.H was undeniably the climax, and the highlight, of the concert. This act was the personal favorite of the authors (and perhaps of most of the audience members), as a skit that intermixed a few acapella performances such as Titanium, Bad Romance and Cool Kids. The audience was enthralled by not only the singing prowess, but also the acting aptitude shown by the Choralists. This was a pleasant surprise to everyone, who had come for a night of auditory feast, but were also blessed with an adept skit. Many of the characters such as Ashley (Bryan Yeo, 17S03F) and Humphrey (Jonathan Lee, 17S06B) were sure to leave an impression on the audience members.
Upon talking to some of the performers, we learnt a bit of inside information about the Choralists’ preparation. “I’ve performed for and organised quite a number of performances by now and preparing for this concert was by far the most intense. This past week has been full days of practices and soundchecks and the month leading up to today has been just as rigorous. I am really proud of what we have managed to put together as a CCA.” Year 5 Choralists Ryan Han (17S03M) and Ganesh (17S06D) had similar opinions on the fantastic concert, with both of them praising the CCA for the hard work they’ve put in.
It was a brilliantly put together concert, with each and every singer pouring their soul into it. After weeks and weeks of blood, sweat and tears, the seeds they sowed reaped bountiful rewards as they executed an awesome performance. The audience was awestruck by the immense skill and talent shown by the choralists — the applause at the end of each performance was well-deserved. It was enchanting and charming to see our batchmates believe so deeply in their craft and communicate this love to their audience. You didn’t have to be a part of them to sense the energy and the camaraderie. Chorale’s performance was thoroughly enjoyable not because of their technical prowess, but because of the simple, unadulterated joy in watching them put their all what they do. We hope that Chorale keeps performing such amazing concerts in the future.
The Grand Finale
