Daijiworld News Network – Mangalore (VM)

Mangalore, Aug 2: Music lends a spark to life. In tune with this thought the students of the Weltha’s school of music lit up one evening recently with the concert ‘Honesty’.

The concert consisted of two parts- the first was devoted to instrumentals, hymns and the theme song. The latter half was a series of group performances of foot-tapping pop hits such as ‘We are the Champions,’ ‘Wind of Change,’ ‘If tomorrow never comes and many others......’

The special guests for the concert included Fr Fred Pereira, who conducted a brief and very meaningful prayer service at the programme, Fr Walter Albuquerque, Vimala Lobo, Gladys Silver and George Bangera- all well known for their contribution to the field of music.

Musician Oscar Weltha of Weltha’s Music School honored each of them for their tireless dedication and exceptional talent.

Vimala Lobo is the local representative for Trinity College of Music, London in Mangalore for the past 35 years and is a Licentiate of college. She trains student in Pianoforte and theory of music upto LTCL.

Gladys Silver has been the church organist at the CSI Sushanti church, Mercara Hill, Mangalore, for the past 49 years since 1947, and trains students in violin, organ piano and guitar and makes them perform in churches of Mangalore.

George Bangera has been the drummer in the popular wedding band led by Godwin Weltha called Weltha’s Orchestra in city. He plays the slide trombone and drums with the Balmatta Musical Association.

Fr Fred a family friend of the Welthas for the past 40 years is presently based at the Bishops house.

Fr Walter has been teaching music for the past 50 years and plays the violin, organ, accordion, and guitar and teaches vocal music also.

At the event, Vimala Lobo gave away the certificates to all those students who had done well in their Grade Exams (Theory). Oscar himself received a certificate from Vimala Lobo, since he has been her student for the last 26 years.

The musical evening began with Sunatra Weltha’s beautiful rendition of the song ‘One Thing I Have’, accompanied by Oscar on the piano. There was also a special number performed after the first half of the programme- an instrumental, led by Oscar sir and the well known musicians of Mangalore- George Bangera, Denzil Karkada, Arun Shiree and Jerome Coelho.

The students performed a kaleidoscopic variety of songs- classical solos, instrumentals, hymns, slow, fast and pulsating numbers to lend a rhythmic variation to the evening’s programme.

The second half of the concert was laced with soulful and spicy numbers belted out by the students. If songs like ‘Something Stupid’, ‘Stuck On You’, ‘Tequila Sunrise’, ‘Tomorrow Never Comes’, ‘Original Sin’, ‘Wind of Change’ kept the audience glued to their seats, the peppy and racy ones like ‘Rose Garden’, ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘Games People Play’ keyed up the place keeping the atmosphere charged for the finale: ‘We are the Champions’.

The curtains were finally drawn on this event, with a surprise performance from the students, which the compeers for the evening Pavitra Nayak and Cheryl Aranha dedicated to the Welthas. An all boy band rocked the stage with ‘La Bamba’ and ‘That Thing You Do,’ giving a be-fitting end to the concert.