JOHOR BARU: The choir team from SMK Infant Jesus Convent, here, recently won the state level secondary schools' choir competition.
The 30-member team wowed judges with their performances of Rasa Nusantara and Mamma Mia Medley with Thariny Vasuthavan as the conductor.
They defeated nine other schools from Johor and mesmerised an audience of 500 people and five judges at the finals held online.
Speaking to the New Straits Times after their win, teacher-in-charge Koh Kai Xin said the girls put on a stunning performance in the competition organised by the Sports, Co-curriculum and Arts Division of the Education Ministry.
"The judges felt they had 'brilliant sound, fantastic energy and cool choreography' which shows that it doesn't always have to be a large choir that wins," she said.
This is the first time the competition is being held after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The school's choir division has enjoyed various achievements over the years, having been selected to perform in 2013 with the world renowned Vienna Boys' Choir in Austria.
Among other achievements were winning the bronze medal at the Singapore International Choral Festival in 2018 and securing a gold at the Voyage of Sound in Bangkok, Thailand in 2019.
Other accolades include winning the silver award at the Asia Cantate competition in Hong Kong in 2014, Silver Diploma Level 9 at the 4th International Festival in Vietnam and a gold award at the 6th Bali International Choir Festival in 2017.
Koh said the current choir members have achieved much success, having won at the district level prior to their state crown.
"SMK Infant Jesus Convent's Choir remains an accurate reflection of hard work, perseverance and commitment. There can only be better things to come in the future. We would also like to thank our principal Andi Noor Munawara Bachok for her continuous support," she said.
Meanwhile, Andi Noor congratulated the girls who had worked hard, stressing that young choristers develop their skills through practice, performance, and education, and emerge as confident young adults with a lifelong love of music.
"We hope to take part in more competitions in the future, as well as recruiting more students to join our choir group to continue our choral adventure.
"You girls have made the school proud and known throughout the country and now we are placed on a high pedestal," she said.
Adding another feather to the school's cap was when the debate team emerged first runner-up in the state level 2022 Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad Trophy competition held online.
The team comprising Hannah Louisa Tara Fernandez, Nurul Batrisyia Mohamed Sanaf, Lakshara Thamotharam, Carmen Ng and Cinta Nur Nashyta Mohd Noor Haffiz gave a tough fight in the finals.
The team from SMK Infant Jesus Convent were opposing the motion, "This house prefers a world without the desire to compete."
Both sides put forth their arguments in a session that lasted over an hour and was judged by a panel of five judges drawn from various fields.
Hannah Louisa said: "For the state level, we had two preliminary rounds. For the preliminary rounds, the first was a prepared motion while the second was an impromptu one.
"In the finals, we went against a combined team drawn from SMK Tinggi Batu Pahat and SMK (P) Temenggong Ibrahim and put up a good fight but luck this time around was not on our side," she said.
Among the objectives of the competition were to promote an interest in the English language, enhance debating skills and knowledge on current issues.
Andi Noor said the school has done well historically in the state and national debate tournaments and the girls were remarkable as a junior team.
"We did not expect to get this far because they were still quite new to debates, but they did not give up hope," she said.