The glory of gold
Bhagya Senaratne
While the sun bears down on us and the beach near by was burning hot,
we listened to the waves crash on the rocks, as we walked in through a
white picket fence to the cozy home of Mary Anne David and Andrew David.
The sweet aroma of food and the warmth of their home welcomed us.
Greeting us with a bright and affectionate smile Mary Anne made us feel
right at home.
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Mary Anne
David
Pictures by Ruwan de Silva |
Having been awarded the State Music Award for her contribution to
Western vocal music this year, Mary Anne David along with her vivacious
students are preparing for their concert ‘Glory of Gold’.
Mary Anne states that this event is exclusively organized to
acknowledge the talents of the students of The Mary Anne School of Vocal
Music, who took part in the competitions of The Sri Lanka Festival of
Music, Dance and Speech which is affiliated to the British and
International Festivals of Music, Dance and Speech.
She states that the talents of these students who went on to bag
seventy two of the awards of the competition should be acknowledged.
The school won approximately sixty awards in the previous year’s
competition and the school winning at a larger scale this year goes on
to illustrate that there is abundant of talent within her students. With
this achievement, Mary Anne goes on to set a record by being the first
Choral Director in Sri Lanka to win the highest number of all island
awards.
Competition
Last year, after the students had displayed their talents in the same
competition, Mary Anne had organized a small scale production to
celebrate the talents of her students at the Russian Cultural Centre.
This year, she states that the students have performed extraordinarily
and that they deserve recognition for their outstanding talents which
were displayed. Therefore, she will be organizing Glory of Gold in a
much larger scale at the Lionel Wendt.
Speaking about the upcoming concert, Mary Anne becomes very animate,
as she boasts –very rightly- about her students’ talents. She states
that all the students who competed in The Sri Lanka Festival of Music,
Dance and Speech will be performing at ‘Glory of Gold’. When inquired
about special spots in the program, Mary Anne grinned and said she
intends to keep that a secret till the performing nights and surprise
her audience. However, she did go on to reveal that there will be
performances by quartets, duets and trios. ‘Glory of Gold’ has a variety
of features on its program ranging from hits from the past, famous songs
from broadways, and a selection of sacred and gospel music.
Vocalists
Mary Anne said one of the main features of the up coming concert
would be the guest spot that she will be giving to three young female
vocalists from the senior section of The Mary Anne School of Vocal
Music. She stated that this will be the only guest item during the
concert and that these singers are also members of the Merry An Singers.
Being a bubbly, energetic person by nature Mary Anne’s joyful voice
echoed through the house, as she became animated in reminiscing her
childhood days. She spoke endearingly of her mother, and how she had
giving her mother a scare or two during her youth.
Music
As a lady who has been a Choral Director for the past forty years,
she has trained many renowned voices in Sri Lanka; so much so, that some
of these vocalists have gone on to establish their own names in the
music industry in the form of choirs, bands or as soloists. It can be
said without a doubt that Mary Anne has trained and unearthed the
talents of many of the contemporary Sri Lankan soloists.
To name a few, Kishani Jayasinghe, Gayathrie Peiris Patrick, Bathiya
and Santhush, Rajitha-leader of the band Misty, Suni Perera-leader of
Gypsies, Piyal Perera- member of Gypsies, Ashanthie, Soundarie David-
Vocal Director of Soul Sounds, Sanjeev Jayaratnam- Director of
Revelations. Speaking of Bathiya & Santhush, she states “the crowd today
does not know their real voices.
They do not need mikes to sing!” She states that they have very
powerful voices. According to Mary Anne, Bathiya & Santhush will be
performing with her, sometime mid next year and she adds that they have
agreed to sing “without mikes” and that will be “selecting the songs for
them to sing.”
Colourful
In addition, the concert will be accompanied on the drums by
Christopher Prins and Neranjan De Silva will be in charge of the sound
works. Another specialty of this concert is that it will have Mary
Anne’s book titled, ‘Merry Voices Raised in Song’ for sale. This book
which has colourful photographs covers stories about Mary Anne and her
choir- The Merry An Singers and the forty year’s journey through the
paths of music. The money collected by both the concert and the sale of
books will go towards the fund to build Mary Anne’s studio.
For Mary Anne, the journey through her life has been memorable with
the assistance of her loving husband Andrew David. She chuckles as she
says that Andrew manages the nitty gritties of the school and who is
also the producer of The Merry Ann Singers. She goes on to state that
“Andrew brings me back to earth, when I am in my fantasies.”
The couple’s son, Andre too has become part of the School and trains
the lower grades. Mary Anne chuckles while she says that Andre is also
the choreographer for the school. She states to a side that we should
see him in action, when he is teaching the children their moves. She
further states that if we happen to walk in to The Dutch Reform Church
in Wellawatte, we will be able to catch the vocalists in training.
Giving us details about her goings-on, Mary Anne states that she has
started a choir for those above the age of forty years.
The ‘Young’ Ones as they are known are a fun loving crowd who has
much talent within them that is not tapped in to. She says she is hoping
to start similar choirs around the island as she knows that the elderly
are neglected in society today.
The concert Glory of Gold will be on October 10 and 11 at Lionel
Wendt and the concert will commence at 7pm. |