A modern take on oldies is among the things audiences at this year's ChildAid concert can expect.
Themed Living Dreams, the annual charity event organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times will feature at least 180 performers, including vocalists, musicians and dancers.
Preparations kicked into gear this week with a workshop for vocalists, in which a group of youngsters aged seven to 17 learnt basic vocal techniques and choreography.
Show director Jeremiah Choy, 54, described it as a "hothouse intensive" process where the show's creative committee observed how the performers collaborated on numbers.
He said: "They break perceptions of what we think they can do."
He added that the performers appear more diverse than the previous years', with their musical tastes spanning jazz, folk, classical and pop, with a number giving an interpretation of songs of their parents' generation, such as Bohemian Rhapsody and La Vie En Rose.
ChildAid music director Julian Wong, 28, said: "My challenge now is to match who sounds right together, to balance music with personalities."
Among vocalists at the workshop was Adam Mark Joseph Lim, 16, a Year 5 student at the School of the Arts. Classically trained in singing since Primary 3, he said he found his niche in jazz as he grew up and could better express the emotions of the songs.
"I love how jazz gave me a relaxed feeling. I understood the lyrics better than in classical, where I didn't often learn the meaning of the Italian and German words," he added.
For him, the theme represents a platform for helping others to fulfil their dreams - through raising money for the concert's beneficiaries - while allowing the audience to escape the stresses of everyday life through music.
Proceeds from ChildAid go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which helps students from low-income families pay for transport to school and meals at recess, and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund, a programme which provides lessons in music or the arts for underprivileged children and teens.
This year's concert, the 12th edition, will be staged at Resorts World Sentosa, the official venue partner, on Nov 18 and 19. Tickets go on sale from the middle of next month.
• For more information, go to www.facebook.com/childaid
