Classical singer Anisa Kureishi. -- ST PHOTOS: ASHLEIGH SIM

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The chance to see so much young entertainment talent on display was just too good to resist, judging by the response to ticket sales of children's charity concert ChildAid.

Tickets for the three-day concert, which will be held at the 1,600-seat Festive Grand Theatre in Resorts World Sentosa from Dec 19 to 21, had sold out by yesterday. Prices range from $15 to $50.

The annual concert, now into its fifth year, raises money for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, and showcases many musical talents.

This time round, the concert will feature 17-year-old Ikhwal Hafiz Ismail, an award-winning singer from Malaysia.

Earlier this year, he won four gold medals and one silver medal at the annual international talent competition, the World Championships of Performing Arts, held in Los Angeles.

From the age of three, the Malaysian singer has been trained to be a performer.

'I was trained to perform, act and dance, but my real passion is in singing,' says Ikhwal, who can play the piano, guitar and drums. He can also sing in 14 languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog and Japanese.

At the concert, he will be belting out Black Or White by the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

On performing at the concert, he says: 'This is my contribution to the arts and to the unfortunate.'

Another youngster who will sing at the concert is 14-year-old Anisa Kureishi.

The ninth-grade student at United World College will team up with fellow classical singer Andrew Sanjay, 12, for a rendition of Panis Angelicus by Cesar Franck.

'Andrew and I work great together, we managed to break the ice immediately. That's really important because singing has a lot to do with energy,' she says.

In July this year, she sang with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in front of President S R Nathan at the President's Young Performers Concert.

She also took part in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, a prestigious music festival held in Wales annually.

With her resume, it is difficult to believe that she started vocal training only two years ago, after an opera CD piqued her interest in music two years earlier.

'Music found me when I listened to a CD of Madame Butterfly and was so impressed,' she says.

She adds: 'I was about 10, and I started off by listening to more CDs and mimicking their techniques.'

The teenager may no longer be a stranger to performing for a large audience but she still says of the upcoming concert: 'It'll be such a thrill to sing before a packed audience and at such a prestigious venue, too.'

songyuan@sph.com.sg