Sharjah: Three student choral groups from Philippine schools in the UAE pulled off a cultural treat over the weekend by giving their own a cappella interpretations of popular Filipino tunes.
The event, part of the 11-day Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF), saw students from the Far Eastern Private School (FEPS) in Sharjah, United International Private School (UIPS) in Dubai and The Philippine School (TPS), also based Dubai, joining the music fest.
The choral contest took place April 22, and is part of the activities during the reading festival which runs from April 19 to April 29 at Sharjah Expo.
The hour-long contest not only provided entertainment but also a snippet of Philippine culture.
In the Philippines, school choirs are popular and tend to draw the young musically-inclined students, as do local church choirs. They have wide public appeal, too, while some had taken to recording and extended concert tours.
The contest went off to great start, despite some off-key moments at some point, as the tough repertoire performed by the young singers were taken from the difficult versions of original Pilipino music set in modern tunes demanding high-quality vocal renditions — which require plenty of dedication.
Besides the nuances of proper enunciation of the Filipino language, the contest was also judged based on proper techniques on breath management, diction, resonance, range building — and stage presence.
The UIPS choristers won the three-way song-fest; TPS bagged the second place while FEPS of Sharjah bagged the third.
What is the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) strives to develop reading among children as well as improving the children’s book industry standards.
In its current session, the SCRF presents a number of awards dedicated promoting the love of reading and culture among children.
Besides book stalls, there are around 2,100 activities on offer, including a cultural cafe and cookery corner at the Sharjah Expo.
One of the main attractions this year is the exhibition called Brain: The Inside Story, which takes visitors on an interactive multimedia tour of the marvels of the human mind.
