When Indonesia’s stars shone bright

Lankan school choirs Methodist College and Ladies’ College and Prestantia Chorale do Sri Lanka proud

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PSM Miracle Voices UII (Indonesia)

The scenes were one of jubilance and excitement as 72 choirs from 9 nations returned to the Temple Trees on Tuesday, October 24, for the Fourth Annual Asia Pacific Choir Games award ceremony. The first of two award ceremonies, Tuesday’s event saw the announcement of the winners of the Open competition, Asia Pacific Championship and Grand Prix of Nations, in the categories of Adult Choirs; Musica Sacra with accompaniment; Gospel, Spiritual, Music of Spirit & Faith; Folklore, Acappella; and Youth choirs.

Those crowned the Asian Pacific Champions and the winners of the Grand Prix of Nations were called up on stage, and the national anthem of their respective nations was played. With the majority of awards going to the Indonesian choirs, the night saw the Indonesian Anthem played six out of nine times. The Indonesians bagged the Asian Pacific Championship award in the categories of Adult Choirs; Musica Sacra with accompaniment; and Gospel, Spiritual, Music of Spirit & Faith, as well as all three competitions in the Folklore A Cappella category; the Grand Prix of Nations in the Gospel, Spiritual, Music of Spirit & Faith category; and the Open Competition in the Youth Choir Category. The Indonesian Choirs that dominated the Games, seemed to be in a league apart from the others.

Methodist College Choir director Sanjeev Jayaratnam receiving the trophy and left, the choir in action

But Sri Lanka as the host nation didn’t come out empty handed either. The Senior Choir of Ladies’ College, conducted by Anushka Abhayaratne, was adjudged the winners of the Open competition in the Gospel, Spiritual, Music of Spirit & Faith category. Similarly Prestantia Chorale, conducted by Priyeshni Peiris- Perera and Wasantha Kumara Geekiyange, won the Open competition in the Musica Sacra with accompaniment category. The biggest winner however, was the Methodist College Choir, which won both the Asia Pacific Championship and the Grand Prix of Nations in the category of Youth Choirs. The choir conducted by Sanjeev Jayaratnam, took the stage and performed the upbeat devotional song “ Music Down in My Soul”, much to the delight of the crowd.

The night also featured impromptu performances by each of the Asian Pacific Champions, the highlight of which was the Gospel performance by the Indonesian Hotumese Choir that got the entire audience on their feet, dancing and singing along. -S.K.