Move It!

Attended a concert last Sunday titled "Move It!" by the Young KL Singers at the Actors Studio in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. They were celebrating their 5th Anniversary.

This was the first time I have heard them perform in a full concert, (there was another time as a guest slot in another concert sometime back), and was pleasantly surprised at the talents and effort put in by one and all. And yes, the group has definitely improved.

Here are some of my thoughts on the concert:

1. Good audience attendance! Full house, even to sitting on the steps!
2. Introduced as a choral choir, but personally think the group was more pop sounding. True, not to the likes of beat boxing or body percussion, or even rockappella types, so I guess somewhere in between. Certainly not to the extent of "Choral"-ness as compared to one or two other groups in KL.
3. Pitchy in parts, especially the guys at the beginning. However, the guys have a tighter sound compared to the girls.
4. So many tenors compared to basses! Hard to find basses these days! Still, impressive to have that many guys in a choir! Even my group has like 5 tenors (part and fulltime) and 2 (one part and one fulltime) bass. Still, the women outnumbered the men, but the balance between the various voices was overall quite good (except for the bass part).
5. Untidy endings (but this is nitpicking here). Given that there are quite a few people singing, it was difficult to get all the "t"s, and what nots to end together. Understable for a large group, but is this an excuse?.
6. I liked Autumn Leaves, especially the arrangement, but thought it was too "airily" sung. More so, when the basses came in with the change in style. Could have been more contrast. Overall, one of the few songs which I really liked and remember.
7. Good keeping of time without conductor for most of the songs. No small feat this!
8. I also particularly liked the African Game Song - "Sansa Kroma". Good Choreo and energy!
9. Pie Jesu was lovely and in pitch and clear notes! However, lead soloist could do with holding the note value more instead of cutting it too short. Matter of phrasing? Still one of my favourites though.
10. Somehow, I prefered the 1st half of the programme compared to the 2nd half. Now, I am a fan of musicals, so may be a bit bias. However, I have seen another group perform similar musical numbers more solidly.
11. I like "Kenangan Lagenda" and one of the male soloist has a very, very good voice. Such pure tones! Wow!
12. The french number was a difficult one, "Yver, Vous N'estes Qu'un Villain" (meaning, "Winter, You Are A Villian"). It was performed in a smaller group, and done well, I must add! I know this one because I have gone through the music score with another choir a few years back. However, the sopranos sounded a bit "piercing" towards the end.
13. Good Choreo for "Light at the End of the Tunnel".
14. Actually, the choreo for the entire show was pretty impressive, and to be honest, "saved" some of the more lacklustre songs/soloists. Good effort though.
15. As encore, the group repeated "Magnificent Horses", which was a difficult piece to get it together. Thought it lacked energy, even when performed as a main song. Maybe the members were tired, as this was the last show for the concert. Would have liked a different song as an encore though, as supposed to repeating a number.
16. Good to see that almost all were enjoying themselves on stage. Some literally let loose, which was brilliant.

Overall, I was glad I went for the show. Enjoyed myself, and heard some very good voices from the group. Well done to all those involved in the production. "Bravo!".

Incidentally, I wonder if some of the members would be open to sing/perform with other groups. I know my group is certainly still looking for a bass. Hmm.... :)