Lending Ears to New All-Mens Choir, Voce Singapore

Acclaimed conductor Darius Lims new independent all-mens choir sets sight on
going international.
by Ng Zi En, Beatrice

Voce Singapore Mens Choir celebrated their debut with a free concert held at St.
Josephs Church on November 20, despite having only 12 practice sessions. (25)

The 15-men ensemble sang a repertoire consisting of 16 songs, consisting of original

pieces by 30-year-old renowned choral conductor and composer Mr Darius Lim.

Voce Singapore Mens Choir began as a brainchild of Mr Lim, who wanted to create a
counterpart for Voco Singapore Ladies Choir, an all-female choir he started. But he
soon found another purpose for his new choir.

The award-winning conductor said: There is not a classical all-male choir in

Singapore and I wanted (Voce Singapore Mens Choir) to create that new sound.

The two-hour long concert contained many surprise segments like off-stage
performances to create a surround sound effect and guest performance by Voco
Singapore Ladies Choir.

The concert, titled Our Prelude, saw attendance by audiences of vastly different
ages, from young children to the mid-70s.

Many came in support of Mr Lim, including past choir students who were under his
tutelage. Ex-student Nicole Goh Rou Jing, 18, immediately reserved the ticket when
she saw the promotional poster on his Facebook page.

She said: I have not seen him in a while, so I thought of supporting him since he
used to be my choir conductor in secondary school.

Mr Lims original rendition of the classical hit Ave Maria received much appraisal
from the audiences. Mr Ghanim Salim, 25, an audience member, called the piece
refreshing and emotion-evoking.

Garnering positive reviews for the concert did not come as an easy task, though.
With only 12 practice sessions, Mr Ong Kheng Hian, 23, president of Voce Singapore
Mens Choir, commented that it was one hell of a ride.

It feels great now that it is over, but it feels better to have sung in it, the
Communications student from Nanyang Technological University added.

The choir began with friends roped in by Mr Lim and Mr Ong separately. Though
strangers at first, it quickly turned into brotherhood, said Mr Mohamad Faisal bin
Jamain, 28, who sang in the Bass section.

That contributed to the success of the concert, said Mr Faisal.

Mr Lim has set sights on bringing Voce Singapore Mens Choir to enter international
scenes in the coming choral seasons, including a joined concert tour overseas with
Voco Singapore Ladies Choir.

The public can expect to hear more from Voce Singapore Mens Choir at regional
competitions and local concerts in the coming year.

Lead word count: 25

Total word count: 413