The Glory of Gold

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.

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.

**This was written to the Daily News. To see the article, click here.**