Countdown to ChildAid 2009

[Written by Grace K from Entertainment]


Imagine a world where people help people, children help children and then, you have a taste of what ChildAid is all about. In its 5th year, the event is organized by The Straits Times and The Business Times, bringing together Singapore’s best young musical talents in a showcase that also raises funds for children in disadvantaged circumstances.

What’s more, this year’s ChildAid event will be held at Resorts World Sentosa from Dec 19 – 21 and this will be the FIRST public event to be held here. Roll out the red carpet as this means we are just days away from the concert.

And yes… this also creates a lot of pressure and excitement on our teams to ensure that everything is done to perfection with a healthy dose of oooohs and aaaahs.

If you think about it, ChildAid is almost like Singapore Child Idol as it brings together the island’s best kinder talent with even more nervous parents waiting in the wings. Though there’s no 1st prize, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an army of talent scouts lurking in the crowd on the lookout for the next Big Star. But I digress.

2009 will be the biggest show in ChildAid history with not only 15 fantastic solo performances, but also for the first time, a choir and a full orchestra. Expect to be entertained. In total, there will be more than 250 performers for this entire concert, in comparison to just 61 in 2008. The orchestra which is made up of the best musicians from several different school orchestras grew from an initial 50 to an 80-strong orchestra because of the quality of talent.

Over 500 kids from all over Asia were auditioned to get into the top 15 spots. These kids are really talented and though this is no stage competition, you can imagine the pressure these kids face in making the cut. The ones who go on and grow up to become professional performers and famous stars will encourage a new generation of talent to forgo the usual iron rice bowl professions and hold on to their dreams. (I’ve always fantasized about becoming the Pink Princess of Death Metal. Detroit Metal City! But then again, a girl’s gotta have her shoes.)

Though all the kids who auditioned were good, there were three in particular that truly stood out. Prodigy #1, Abigail Sin is a 16-year-old pianist who has not only won more awards than I can type but has played for President Nathan on numerous occasions at the Istana. How cool is that? At 16, the only award I won was for making Rock Buns in Home Economics.

Prodigy #2 is Rachel Chua, the exceptional 15-year-old TV performer you may have seen on the popular Taiwanese TV contest, One Million Star. And then there is the phenomenal 10- year- old drummer boy, Theron Lim, who is the Eddie Van Halen of Orchard Road and has been keeping the rhythm to the beat since the tender age of six.

The ChildAid performance will take at our brand new 1,600-seat theatre which will eventually house our resident show, Voyage de la Vie, an original RWS-produced heart-pounding circus spectacular! The word is quite vernacular. (More on VDLV in a future blog)

To give ChildAid a little bit of that somethin’ something’ and RWS pizzazz, we volunteered Creative Director extraordinaire, Jason Ramsburg to choreograph a special song and dance number a la High School Musical’s “We’re all in this together”. This is not to be missed!

See you at the show. Rehearsals start in Dec so look out for the behind-the-scenes pictures on this blog.

Child Aid will be held at the Festive Grand in Resorts World Sentosa from Dec 19 to 21 2009. Tickets priced at $15, $20 and $30 can be purchased from early next month at www.sistic.com.sg