L'express met with singer and voice coach Katrin Caine (picture). She tells us more about the upcoming “Around the World in 80 minutes” concert which will take place on 1 & 2 July at the Caudan Arts Center.

Please introduce the 2nd Edition of the much awaited Around the World concert.

We focus on different regions of the world, we are starting with a Celtic block that includes well-known songs such as Flower of Scotland and Danny Boy. The European block includes songs like “Volare” and “Sous le Ciel de Paris”. The songs of the Asian section may be less known to the audience, some may have heard the lovely Korean “Arirang” before. We’ll also sing “The Wellerman” and “Baba Yetu” (in Swahili).

Is it hard to integrate music coming from different parts of our diversified world?

There is such a rich culture of music all over the world. We can only scratch the surface, but it does feel like traveling. It allows us to dive into the different rhythms and harmonies, and it is fascinating and enriching. The biggest challenge is probably the mastery of the different languages. (German, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Swahili, Japanese, Spanish etc)

Tell us more about the band...

Many of the songs will be a cappella. It is great to hear the harmonies being produced only by voices. Some of the songs are accompanied by different arrangements. We have piano, violin, guitars, percussion, accordion and hopefully even bagpipes.

And a few words on the Island Voices Choir?

Island Voices is defined by its singers and the choir director. We have a passion for music, and we love to sing. We like a variety of genres, from world music, pop, and musicals to opera and operetta. The choir has a rather original elementary energy. We're a mix of local singers, Mauritians, and residents, a rich mix of backgrounds and colors.

What are your expectations for this second edition?

The rehearsals are fun. We enjoy working on the songs and singing them. There are vibrant, energetic as well calm and thoughtful moments. We hope to include the audience in this happiness for the 80 minutes that they are sharing with us.

Extra info: Some songs are such by soloists. The winner in the Youth section of the Water Cube Competition (Chinese Singing Competition) is going to sing a solo. Leanne How.

I myself am going to sing a solo Opera 2, a song with very high notes, which was made famous by Dimash, an amazing singer from Kasachstan. Dancers from Attitude Dance Studio will be dancing for this song. We have Shadowland dancers for a Chinese song and ballroom dancers for our French song.