‘Voices of Hope’ wins Ultimate H’bill choir

It all went down to four choir groups to compete at the grand finale of the ‘Ultimate Hornbill Choir’, held tonight at the Regional Centre of Excellence for Music and Performing Arts (RCEMPA), Jotsoma. As one of the judges would say, the grand finale was more or less Kohima versus Dimapur as the four choir groups were equally divided between the two districts. However, the final results proved that Dimapur emerged victorious winning both the title and second position.
After two rounds of powerful performances from all the respective choir groups, the Voices of Hope from Dimapur led by renowned musician Nise Meruno, emerged as the winner and took home a cash of Rs one lakh.
Just nine members in the choir, the Voices of Hope, Dimapur won the coveted title after belting out a “Christmas Medley’ and ‘Let it be me’, a Chakhesang folk fusion in the two respective rounds. Mention be made that both the songs were arranged by Nise Meruno.
The 1st runner-up was bagged by the Chakhesang Baptist Church, Dimapur, led by Kehepe Letro.
Other than the title award, the Voices of Hope also won the award for ‘Best presentation & Stagecraft’, while Chakhesang Baptist Church Dimapur won the category of ‘Best Uniform’.
Leading the Seven Tone Choir from Kohima, Ajeen Longchari bagged the title of ‘Best conductor’. The other choir group was Sumi Baptist Church, Kohima.
It may be noted that the choir groups were given the liberty to choose a song of their choice in one of the rounds and a folk song (mandatory) in the other round.
They choir competition was judged on four categories. Firstly on the technique of singing, secondly on interpretation and harmony, thirdly on level of difficulty and the fourth category was on stage performance.
The judges for the grand finale were James Shekiye Swu (Chief Judge), Visahu Peseyie and Vimezo Iralu.
The event held under the theme ‘Let Music Speak’ was initiated by Music Task Force in collaboration with Unlock Productions.
The grand finale was also marked by performance from the Symphony School of Music and a song presentation by Zao.