Media Release
Dubai, Sep 16: Mangalore Konkans Dubai, the leading socio-cultural organisation in the UAE will be holding the semi-final round of Gulf Voice of Mangalore (GVOM) Season 4 on September 26, sharp at 5:40 pm at Emirates Theatre - Emirates International School Dubai, Jumeirah (Al Thanya). The venue will open by 5 pm.
Preparations for the event are in full swing and the show will bring in a lot of creativity and entertainment to the fore. The contestants have all geared up with regular practice sessions to vie for the attention of the judges as well as the audience.
The following singers were selected during the closely contested prelims:
Category - Female:
1. Joshal Sweeda D’Souza
2. Jane Baretto
3. Nisha Sequeira
4. Vinola Sequeira
5. Fabella Anugraha Pinto
6. Sharon Rego
Category - Male:
1. Melwyn Antony D’Souza
2. Vincent Rodrigues
3. Brian Fernandes
4. Alwyn Mendonca
5. Anil Thimothy Mascarenhas
6. Jeevan Vas
A single winner from each category will have an opportunity to represent UAE in the finals that will be held in Muscat, Oman on November 7 (Friday).
The event will feature some of the top Konkani music talents as judges which includes household names like "Yodeling King" Melwyn Peris, "Melody Queen" Anitha D'Souza and "Guitar King" Alwyn Fernandes. With these professionals in the panel of judges, everyone may be rest assured that the results will be the best.
A brief profile of the judges
Melwyn Peris
Melwyn Peris started singing at the age of 6 years in the parish and inter-parish level singing competitions and won many prizes under the guidance of his brother, the late Denis Peris.
He started composing at the age of 16 and composed songs for Konkani dramas. He is the youngest to perform a full-fledged musical nite at the age of 21. To date he has performed 94 nites in Mangalore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, Muscat, Kuwait and Canada.
Many of Melwyn’s songs have been awarded 'Best Song of the Year' in the Konkan Natak Sabha singing competitions. Melwyn is popularly known as Yodelling King for his unique style of singing. Till date he has produced 27 volumes of cassettes and CDs of Konkani/Tulu songs and 17 volumes of devotional songs. He is well-known for baila songs. He has also given performances with Konkan Kogull Wilfy Rebimbus, Henry D’Souza and the late P H Pinto.
He has been bestowed with many awards for his contribution in popularizing Konkani music. He has been honored by many social and religious groups.
Anitha D'Souza
Anitha D'Souza is a born singer with a God-gifted melodious voice. She started singing from a very early age of 5. She was honoured with the title 'Kala Tilaka' by the Kerala Government when she was in the 4th standard, that is at the age of 9. She secured the first place in the state-level light music competition in Kerala when she was in the 10th standard. After that there was no turning back. She came to Mangalore and completed her diploma and degree in dance and music and performed in a number of musical shows.
She was honoured with the title 'Tulunada Gaana Kogile' at the valedictory ceremony of '4 the Super Singers' a karaoke music competition at Town Hall on May 3, 2011. She was also conferred with the 'Vishwa Gadinada Rani Kogile' title in November 2011.
Anitha has sung for the Konkani Movie 'Padri'. She has also sung with almost all the popular and renowned Konkani singers like Konkan Kogull Wilfy Rebimbus, Yodelling King Melwyn Peris, Maand Sobann's Eric Ozario, Claud D'Souza, Henry D'Souza and others.
Apart from being a talented singer, Anitha is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She also conducts music classes for students of all ages and gives opportunities to deserving students to perform in her shows. She currently runs a music institute in Mangalore
Alwyn Fernandes
From being a choir boy in Mangalore to being voted by "Rolling Stones" magazine as one of India’s top ten guitarists, Alwyn sure has come a long way. It was in high school that he caught the guitar bug and learned to play the instrument by himself. After playing around town for a few years, he took the night bus to Bangalore in the early 90s, and since then, he has worked in many bands including W.A.R.D.E.N and Millennium (Heavy Metal), Antaragni (World Music), The Sign of Four (Jazz), and pop bands ‘The Web’, ‘Casablanca’, ‘Sweet Serenade’ and ‘Last Temptations’. He has collaborated with world renowned artistes like Dr L Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti, Corky Seigel et al. He is a versatile guitarist whose repertoire include the varied genres of jazz, pop, rock, metal, world music and classical music. His guitar clicks can be heard on most of the movie songs being played on FM. Besides this, he is a brilliant composer and arranger, versatile and stylish who plays from the heart. His greatness lies in his simplicity.
Comperes
Roshan D'Silva: Roshan has been a steady face at various social events in and around Dubai. Roshan has a flair when it comes to speaking 'Aputt Konkani', for which he has won many laurels.
Rowena Pereira: Although a new face in UAE Konkani circles, Rowena has a legacy of handling some of the high profile events such as Rachana Awards as a compere.
Added Attractions
Besides the singing competition, judges themselves will be performing their favorite songs.
The event will also host Melodia Choir from Dubai, with their beautiful rendering of Konkani Songs.
Feat Beat Group will feature their dancing talents in the event.
Music for the event will be provided by Ramiro Band, and sound and lighting by Broadway.
All in all, GVOM-4 semi-final in Dubai will be a total entertainment package.
The seating arrangement in Emirates Theatre is limited, so those keen to attend this exciting event are requested to buy entry tickets well in advance which are priced at AED 30 or AED 50 or AED 100.
For bookings contact Walter Peris on 050-455-3265 or Roney D’Cunha on 050 – 658-8383.