It was an evening of surprises. The evening was ostensibly a showcase for the Deccan Voices, the local choral ensemble which sings a variety of music from Broadway and West End musicals, to pop, gospel and western classical music, but it was the guest artistes who stole our hearts and minds and took our aural sensibilities to another musical dimension!
The Deccan Voices started the evening with a medley by the composer George Gershwin, whose music legatos, or, smoothly transitions through classical music, jazz and the blues to Broadway musicals; the medley was called the ‘Gershwin Showcase’. The ensemble then warmed up with ‘Man in the Mirror’, a Michael Jackson song, and then Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s, ‘Laudate Dominium’; but when they sang Paul Simon’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ the ensemble came into their own and did it with feeling, the difficult gospel type harmonies and the balance of voices brought out the beauty of the song with great finesse. Another song which turned out well was the Beatles song, ‘When I’m Sixty four’.
A medley of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera’ was sung competently, and the Deccan Voices ended their session with Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Duke Ellington, ‘Sir Duke’ for which the conductor, Jonathan, left the vocal ensemble to themselves and accompanied them on trumpet. Needless to say, the conducting by Jonathan Hewitt, and the keyboard accompaniment by Joe Koster, was capable and proficient throughout, and so were the soloists, Ashrita and Tejaswini from Deccan Voices.
One of the guest soloists who performed was Meghna Dundi, a local girl, who was a contestant finalist at the Karaoke World Championship, she sang a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren in 1941 and was first performed by Glen Miller, but made famous in 1960 by blues singer Etta James, whose version is the gold standard of all performances of the song. Meghna did an impressive version of the song, with her own vocal variations; her voice and rendering of this classic was truly authentic and surprisingly bluesy. It was undoubtedly a good performance; Meghna was accompanied by Sarosh on guitar.
But, the music and the soloists that really got into the minds, hearts and souls of the audience were the next three singers, because listening to them was truly an experience to remember, indeed an invaluable gift to the audience. We were privileged to be there to receive this musical bounty that was offered to us with such generosity and love by these three soprano’s.
Of the three ladies of song, two were opera singers, Pamela Hinchman and Harrah Friedlander from the USA, and Sandra Oberoi from Bangalore; a gospel singer. Sandra Oberoi runs the Harmony Music School in Bangalore and is also student of music at the Bienen School of Music NorthWestern University, Evanston, Illinois, where Pamela Hinchman is faculty in Voice & Opera, teaching ‘Voice’. And where Harrah Friedlander was Pamela Hinchman’s student.
I was so enraptured by the music and musicianship and soaring wonder of these voices that I didn't make notes: So, these are my ‘note less’ impressions of the music.
Pamela Hinchman was the first Soprano to perform, she has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Cairo (Egypt), Haifa (Israel), Calgary, Pittsburgh, National, Wichita, Columbus, Harrisburg, Connecticut, Florida Philharmonic, and Kansas City. She has also appeared with Teatro de la Monnaie (Belgium), Spoleto Festival dei due Mondi (Italy), Cleveland Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Company of Boston, Washington Opera, Kennedy Center, Nashville Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City amongst so many other recitals (taken from the North Western website).
Pamela Hinchman began her performance with a piece by W. A. Mozart and then did other songs from opera’s, by other composers who’s names I didn’t catch since I was much too delighted to keep my wits and take notes. Her voice - a warm, full-bodied dramatic soprano, and her singing a perfect example of roundness of tone and clarity throughout her range, whether it was her ringing top notes or her velvety mid range or her impeccable lower register. It was a commanding voice and delivery. But what really got through to us in the audience was the expression with which she conveyed the feeling of the music, though we were clueless about the words, that got us involved with the song. Her performance was truly a dramatic and wonderful experience, and the audience was as awestruck by her beautiful voice and her obviously expert singing technique, as by her stage presence and personality.
The next soprano to perform was Harrah Friedlander, whom Pamela Hinchman introduced as a student of hers in ‘Voice and Opera’ at Northwestern University. And what can we say about Harrah Friedlander, except, amazing! She is a coloratura soprano; that means she has a light voice which is very agile and capable of singing very high notes. Harrah sang, or rather performed, the 'Les oiseaux dans la charmille' ("The Doll Song") where she takes the part of a mechanical doll, appearing stiff and doll-like, and moving her hands and body mechanically while maintaining her technique while singing the most difficult, rapid- yet-smooth staccato passages in such a high register, it was almost like whistling, yet she kept her remarkably bright, sweet and melodious tone of voice, yes, she was amazing… and so pleasing to see!. And as her teacher Pamela Hinchman said, she is going to have a great career in music.
The next soprano was Sandra Oberoi. Sandra Oberoi sang a classic gospel song called ‘My Tribute – To God Be The Glory’ which adds a gospel touch to the hymn 'To God Be The Glory'. Sandra Oberoi is a soprano who sings with power and with heartfelt delivery. Her approach and vocal range and vocal intensity were pleasing. She gave the lyrics true perspective with complete control of expression with which she shaded the song. She was indeed a singer that one would like to hear more of!
The three sopranos then did 'O Holy Night' as a trio since it was so close to Christmas and this too, was so beautifully rendered, that we in the audience, felt blessed to hear them sing.
The evening of music was brought to us by the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation, in collaboration with Harmony Music School, Bangalore.
It was truly a wonderful and stirring evening of music, and I overheard Sudeep, one of the basses in Deccan Voices say that he would have happily paid fifty times more than the price of the ticket for the privilege of listening to this evening’s music, especially the sopranos.
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