In The Media

The Star, Metro, 4 November 2004
Home-grown world-class choir
By Bavani M

IN New York, they were the VIP guests of Cornell University. In Valencia, Spain, they were presented with the key to the city. ‘The New Indian Express’, a local daily in Banglore, India, described them as ‘a choir of angles’. In fact, wherever they went, mayors, governors, and the media hosted them. They are no bigwigs; just a bunch of simple, but highly-talented children who enjoy singing and dancing. BAVANI M. meets up with these kids and discovers just how special they are.

It was slightly after 3pm on a Sunday afternoon and a group of children was spotted at the school hall of Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Suria in Taman Tan Yew Lai, Puchong.

However, on venturing closer towards them, it became clear that they were not just hanging around but practising their vocals.

The surprising thing was finding kids as young as six years old, practising attentively with older members of the group.

But then again these kids are members of the Operafest Children’s Choir (OCC), to whom the rigours of training and the pressure of performing have probably made them more mature than their age.

For many of these youngsters, the oldest of whom are 18 years old, they have been training all their lives and flying to various cities displaying their talent in world-class choir competitions all over the world.

They have thus far performed with the world-renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir, Trinity Boy’s Choir in England, Czechoslovakia Children’s Choir and many others and have had the privilege of becoming the first Malaysian choir to win third and second places in international choir competitions in Holland and Wales, respectively.

Back home, they are relatively unknown although they have performed for charity. One of their well-known charity projects was in aid of widow Kang Gaik Kee’s shelter for stray and unwanted dogs in Penang.

The children managed to raise RM14,000 for Kang during their performance in Penang last year.

In fact, since OCC’s inception in 1986 they have raised over RM3mil for various local charities. Some of the money was used to sponsor their trips to international choir competitions.

Sometimes, money for the airfare comes out of their parents’ pockets.

Led by their spunky music teacher Kam Sun Yoke, who is the artistic director of OCC, the kids meet twice a week during weekends at SK Seri Suria where they undergo four hours of arduous training to hone their talent.

It seems odd that they are willing to sacrifice their weekends to make it for training, when most teens their age prefer to hang out at malls or go to the movies.

“I love singing, in fact there’s nothing I enjoy doing more,” said 17-years-old Brian Cheong one of the early members of OCC. “Doing something you love for a good cause is just added bonus,” he added.

Of course, Cheong was quick to add that one of the perks of being a member of OCC was the VIP treatment that they get every time the group performed overseas.

“Apart from getting to travel a lot, it’s also quite wonderful receiving standing ovations and hearing the repeated cries for encores each time we perform abroad. It’s just so nice to be appreciated like that,” he said.

Pioneer member Priya Darshini Prabakaran agrees. “We were greeted with garlands in India and people were actually lining up to get our autographs. Over here people don’t even know us,” said the 16-years-old girl.

However, Priya was quick to add that personal glory was not what the group is seeking for. “I simply love singing. In fact, I even gave it up for a month and discovered that life was boring without me singing,” she said.

Meanwhile, 18-years-old Samantha Tan, who plans to make a career in the performing arts, said she could not imaging life without singing and dancing, “You could say that I do not have a social life, but that’s OK. This is my life and this is what I want to do,” she said.

As for Kam, she treats the task of training the kids as a challenge.

“The children come to me at a tender age with virtually no skills and even after years of training, many would eventually leave the group, leaving me with no choice but to recruit and retrain new charges.”

“Call me a mad woman, because that is what I am,” she said. “We have the talents right here to make it big in the world and we have proven ourselves many times,” assed Kam.

“These children are the perfect ambassadors for Malaysia, they have made us proud over and over again.”

“When they are abroad they are like a ‘curiosity piece’ to the locals who often wonder who they are. But when they perform, they will become instant celebrities, yet back home, no one is even aware of us or that the Malaysian flag is raised in a foreign land every time the children perform,” said Kam.

The OCC is currently recruiting children between the ages of eight and 18 years for the musical West Side Story, which will be held early next year.

Practices are held every Saturday and Sunday from 3pm to 6pm at SK Seri Suria in Taman Tan Yew Lai, Puchong. Interested parties can come for an audition on weekends.