Come, be a part of ‘Sangeet’, say Soundarie and Sanjeev
Two big names in the music scene come together to form a mixed choir group of both male and female singers
“Sangeet - uniting through music” sees well known choral directors Soundarie David Rodrigo, founder of the Soul Sounds Academy and Sanjeev Jayaratnam, leader of The Revelations Academy of Performing Arts come together to create a group of mixed voices.
Both needing no introduction for their musical prowess, Soundarie and Sanjeev thought it would be a suitable change to engage in a joint effort to create a mixed choir of both male and female singers.
“We felt there is a gap in terms of a versatile mixed voice choir. When I say a versatile mixed voice choir, I mean a mixed voice choir which can sing multiple genres of music,” said Sanjeev.
Although they have been competitors for a significant period of time, Soundarie and Sanjeev say they have shared an unspoken admiration for each other’s work and aim to share their experiences collectively with new singers and performers through “Sangeet”.
“Both Sanjeev and I are determined to make this new venture something different from all existing groups, including our own,” says Soundarie. “We would bring together singers and lovers of music and based on our experience in the choral and music fields, collectively we would like to share our knowledge and make out of it - a product that would be refreshingly new and with many new experiences.”
The name “Sangeet” takes inspiration from the Sinhala word “Sangeethaye” and the Tamil word “Sangeetham”. To further underscore their tagline “uniting through music”, the logo was created using a variety of colours “uniting”, as Soundarie explains. The musical influence is also clear as the title embodies a Treble and Bass clef. “A lot of thought has gone into the concept, and overall it is a concept that unites people together through music and song,” says Soundarie.
They intend to showcase a variety of genres including classical, gospel, jazz and Sri Lankan music amongst others. “Both of us are not afraid at all to experiment,” says Sanjeev adding that they intend to make these performances truly entertaining adding a theatrical element to them. “At the end of the day, we believe that with good music also comes in an element of performance and theatre which we’ll incorporate with the singing,” remarks Soundarie.
Although this venture started out as one aimed at young people, they are opting instead to open up the opportunity to anyone who is youthful. Sanjeev clarifies, “by youthful we mean anyone who’s ready to try new things and also open up to experimenting. Not youth in terms of age but attitude, outlook and mindset.”
According to Soundarie the directors aim to develop these individuals by providing “youthful singers with high quality choral experience and performance opportunities both in Sri Lanka and overseas, to encourage choral singing and music education, including sight reading and solo performances, to encourage collaborative works with other youth choirs, and orchestras, to not only train young singers with acquired skills for music education and vocal performances but also through choral singing stress the importance of commitment, leadership skills, time management and team building.” They plan to hold a debut concert later this year.
Soundarie concludes, “We realize that there would be many challenges ahead, not to mention many who might be sceptical about this venture - but music unites, and in keeping with the concept we both are convinced that as we join forces to share our knowledge, experiences and expertise in putting out something new, we are sure that Sangeet is going to be something creative and embracing new ideas and concepts creating music that has no barriers.”
For inquiries and further updates follow the Sangeet - uniting through music Facebook page @sangeetlk
Or reach out to Sanjeev through sanjeev@revpe.com or on 0777346806 and Soundarie through soundarie@hotmail.com or on 0771053002.