By Fr Forbi Blaise Manjong, MHM
SARIKEI — It is often said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.
When the idea of a Musical Festival was first conceived it sounded like an illusion. We dreamt of a huge platform whereby all the different choirs within the Diocese of Sibu could come together to celebrate their giftedness. From an imaginary concept we started working towards making this dream a reality.
It was however magical to see how all the choirs embraced this idea and looked towards it with a lot of excitement. Upon getting the choir leaders on board we sat down and outlined the vision and objectives of the Musical Festival.
It was summarised in three main points; firstly, that the festival will aim at caring for the spiritual needs of the choirs. Secondly, the festival will aim at creating a platform whereby we can all celebrate the giftedness of the different choirs. Lastly, it envisaged towards bringing the different choirs together, not only for the sake of getting to know one another but for choirs to be able to learn from each other.
To make it more interesting, we agreed that the peak of the festival will be a musical competition among the different choirs to see which parish takes home the trophy.
For over six months the choirs intensified their practice sessions in view of participating in the Musical Festival. Each choir was required to prepare two songs; the first song being a Psalm of their choice and the second song being an original composition in line with the theme of the festival which was “My Soul Magnifies the Lord”.
The date was 15 and 16 November 2024 and the venue was St Anthony’s Church Sarikei.
It was a busy day for the choirs within the Diocese as different choir members from across the Diocese were all travelling to be part of this event.
A total of nine parishes attended the Musical Festival (Kapit, Kanowit, Julau, Sarikei, Bintangor, Sibu Cathedral Parish, St Mary Sibu, Selangau and Mukah).
At about 2.00 pm the parish was becoming noisy and lively from the excitement of choir members getting to meet each other, some of whom were getting to meet one another for the very first time.
The Musical Festival began at 4.00 pm with one-hour recollection presided over by Fr Joe Sebastian. During this spiritual exercise, the choirs did not only spend time before the Blessed Sacrament but they were nourished with spiritual talks drawn from the theme “My Soul Magnifies the Lord” reminding them of the necessity to encounter Christ through music.
The second part of the event was the peak of the festival which was the talent night. For over four hours we witnessed a competitive exhibition of gospel songs from nine choirs all vying to see which choir would emerge as the winner.
To make it interesting, a challenge trophy was introduced and this trophy was the Statue of St Cecilia, patron saint for all choristers. The champion was to take back this trophy to their parish. However, the champion is expected to bring back the trophy during the next edition and if in case the champion defends this trophy for three consecutive times, it shall be given to them permanently.
For onlookers who came to cheer on their choir during the talent night, the feeling was heavenly and just like Shakespeare says; “if music be the food of love play on…” many wanted the night to last a bit longer.
The final highlight of the Musical Festival was the closing Mass on 16 November which was led by the Bishop.
In his homily, Bishop Joseph Hii expressed immense satisfaction towards the initiative of the Musical Festival which according to him, has not only made the Diocese come together but also equally made the participants to be able to celebrate unity in diversity among them.
At the end of the Mass was the long-awaited moment as the results were proclaimed. The Choristers of Sts Peter and Paul’s Parish emerged as the champion, while Christ the King Choir Bintangor took the second position and St Cecilia Choir Kanowit occupied the third position. Meanwhile, both the best cantor and the best conductor were awarded to Christ the King Parish Bintangor.
The festival ended with photo sessions as choristers departed to their various parishes with lots of beautiful memories, hoping to be reunited again next year for another edition of One Voice Musical Festival.
