While Christmas buffs eagerly slip into a festive state of mind when December finally begins, Jith Peiris hears the sound of silver bells almost at the beginning of the year as he plans out his Christmas celebration.
Just as families- wherever they may be during the rest of the year- reunite for Christmas, Jith’s celebration involves the gathering of a rather large family, of a sort; in his tenth edition of Silver Bells, to be held at the Lionel Wendt on December 11.
“As for the performers, it a very exciting experience,” comments Trudy Herft who will present a solo performance at the show. “ Aside from our final rehearsal and the day of the show we are unable to bring every group together to practice, so we don’t know what everything will look like until the very end. But when it all comes together, it feels like a family reunion.”
For Trudy and the rest of the cast, part of the Christmas experience is several things coming together to make something special. And this is exactly what is promised to happen with Silver Bells. An impressive gathering of Sri Lanka’s best loved choirs and artistes will gather on the stage of the Wendt once again to add their own touch of magic to the season. “There is also a feeling of spur-of-the-moment spontaneity which in a way sets the show apart from others,” says Trudy.
This, the performers agree is a big part of why they juggle several Christmas concerts with next to impossible time constraints. The spirit of the season they sing of and the stories related in their performances, cannot be let go or suppressed easily.
“It is magical,” declares Jith emphatically. “There is no other word for it. And if there were any time to really indulge in pleasant nostalgia and sentimentality, this is it.”
It is for this reason that, despite the increasing difficulties in getting an almost impossibly large group of performers together, Jith has kept the Silver Bells tradition alive. “When I first started,” he reminisces, “Colombo didn’t have many Christmas productions, except for carol services organized by schools and churches. So I decided that it was time to do something different- a celebration not just of the Christmas message but of the joy, the festivity. Added to that a celebration which would also give the less fortunate a chance to celebrate.”
With this objective in mind, Silver Bells has always been about helping the marginalized, and this year is no different. “All the proceeds from the show will go towards charity,” says Jith. “This is what makes being a part of the production so special- the fact that doing what we do best, we’re also helping to make a difference. And as every household becomes a flurry of anxious, last-minute activity as children write to Santa and mothers bring out boxes of decorations from dusty shelves, this large group puts the finishing touches on their performances, eagerly anticipating the joy they hope to bring not just to their audience but to the people who need a little extra cheer at Christmas.
Silver bells will feature the students of the Soul Sounds Academy, The Menaka Singers, the Revelations, The Methodist College Choir, the El Latino dance troupe and solo performances by Dalreen, Shanelle, Dhanushi, Dmitri, Trudy and Ashane (piano).
The print media Sponsors of Silver Bells are The Sunday Times and The Daily Mirror. The group photo featured on this week’s magazine cover was captured at Park Street Mews restaurant. Tickets for the show priced at Rs. 1500, 1000, 850, 750 and 550 are available at the Lionel Wendt.
|
E-mail
