Tiaran Profile – Harveen K. Kaulsey

Going places is nothing new to Malaysia's famous Operafest Children's Choir. The Choir was recently invited to participate in the Bambanani Goodwill and Friendship Festival in Pretoria, South Africa, from May 25th - June 8th. It was the only international choir invited to perform alongside various choirs in Pretoria.

A group of l9 Malaysian students (four boys and eleven girls) took part in the festival, led by their conductor Kam Sun Yoke. Among them was our own Tiaran, Harveen K. Kaulsey. The fourteen year old Sri Chempaka Form 3 student said that the other singers ranged between 7 - 19 years of age. They came from schools in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam. Some were accompanied by their parents.

Though it was her first oversea trip without her parents, Harveen found the outing delightful. On a scale of 10, she said she put her South African experience at 11. It was that enjoyable, being in the company of friends, seeing interesting places and experiencing fascinating cultures.

At the visit to the Lesedi Cultural Village, described as "The Cradle of Humankind," where the first traces of Man were found, she was told that, many centuries ago, when a woman got married, many at the tender age of 14, the teenaged brides were an unhappy lot. They had to work very hard. One of their tasks was to spread cow dung with their hands, on the earthern floor of their huts. Mothers-in-law, fearing the young brides would escape and run away, often put chains around their ankles, with some even placing heavy metal neckbraces around their necks.

Harveen and her friends also partook of the traditional African dish, which comprised mashed maize with a sweetish-sourish sauce.

The highlight of Harveen's trip, after discounting the choiral performances before American, British, Japanese, Spanish and South African audiences in Pretoria, Soweto (once the home of South Africa's first black President, Nelson Mandela) and Johannesburg, was her visit to the Wild Cave.

"I found this so interesting and exciting," she said. "We had to abseil down a very steep slope by rope. It was really very deep. There were tons of bats swarming above us. At times it was so dark in the cave, but we had headlights attached to our forehead so managed to make our way about. The experience lasted nearly three hours.”

Harveen's interest in music began in 2003, when she attended courses at the Singshop in Sri Hartamas with younger sister Manveen,12, and their aunt, Dr. Roopi. She underwent vocal classes for 2 years, stopping in 2005. She auditioned for Operafest in Januay 2006 and was selected. Barely 5 months after joining, she went on tour with the Operafest Choir to South Africa.

Practice sessions are from 2pm - 6pm during weekends, where she is driven to and fro by her devoted mother, Baljeet. Younger sister Manveen has opted out—she is more into reading. An avid reader, she can never be seen without a book in hand, and also reads when being driven around!

Harveen has also visited New Delhi and Amritsar in India, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the US, (taking in Disneyland and Universal Studios), London, Amsterdam, New Zealand, Bali, Langkawi and Singapore.

"But I enjoyed this trip to South Africa best of all," she enthused. "Maybe it is because of the sense of adventure and the exotic cultural experiences we went through on this trip," she added.

The Operafest Children's Choir has performed in concert halls in New York, Barcelona, Argentina, India, Australia, Macedonia, Greece, Wales, Holland and Singapore. Conductor Kam Sun Yoke added, "in New York ,the choir was given citations by the Mayor ,as well as the United Nations."

This recent trip, where the choir acted as ambassadors for Malaysia, was partly sponsored by the our Ministry Of Culture and Arts, and Malaysia Airlines System.

In July 2006, the Choir will be holding several performances in Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh.

The Issmay Choir from San Francisco, an 80-strong choir comprising children aged 12-16, will also be participating. To get a feel of the country, these children will be housed with Malaysian hosts.

Concluded Harveen, "I am very honoured to have been selected as one of the performers."

Those wishing to catch the Operafest Children’s Choir in action ca do so at the Plenary Hall KLCC on July 17^th (6pm); Dewan Filharmonik KLCC on July 18^th (8:30pm); Wisma Kebudayaan SGM on July 20^th (8:30pm); SGM Selangor Cultural Centre on July 21 (8pm); Lake Club on July 23^rd (8:30pm).