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Santo Estevam's Velrose has her music blooming in Toronto

Velrose Pereira's hard work and dedication to music placed her among the 10 finalists in ‘Muscat got Talent’ as she barely entered her teens. She was also declared the winner at the inter-school competition held in Oman for the Konkani Solo she played on the keyboard at the Jhankaar

Michael Jude Gracias | SEPTEMBER 23, 2022, 07:51 PM IST
Santo Estevam's Velrose has her music blooming in Toronto

Dreams are not what you see in sleep. It is the thing which does not let you sleep, so said our great President of India and Nuclear Scientist APJ Abdul Kalam. Indeed, the dreams that we harbour in our hearts will see the light of day only if we venture to rise to the challenges of the day and strive to tread the paths that will lead us to make our dreams a reality in our lives. Trust in God, belief in oneself and the readiness to put in hard work with sincerity and dedication are all that are required to give wings to your dreams and soar higher and higher in success and job satisfaction. Velrose Pereira, our trumpet girl and pride of Konkani music, is today a name to reckon with; soaring higher and higher in the firmament of stars, shining as the shooting star from Goa in the galaxy.

This young lady was born in the village of ladyfingers; Santo Estevam, to Avers Pereira, a singer of repute and style and Suzie Pereira who carried her day-to-day chores humming the Konkani classics at home. Her infancy was spent in the lap of her loving grandmother who instilled in her at that tender age, the love for Goa’s rich cultural heritage, telling her stories of great Goans and feeding her while singing the rich Mandos of yesteryears. At a young age, Velrose began singing; her first stage being the bed and the audience her grandmother who was always there to hug her prodigy after her performance. 

At the age of 5, Velrose joined her parents who were working in Muscat, Oman. Avers Pereira, her dad, was well-known as a prolific singer. Seeing his young daughter singing, he inculcated in her the virtue of thanksgiving and together they began singing praises to the Almighty. God loves a cheerful and grateful heart and soon Velrose became part of the children's choir group in the Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and Paul, singing her heart out in praise to the Almighty for the gift of life and blessing her with the talent of singing!

Her voice in the choir too lifted the faithful in thanksgiving to God and people began congratulating her and her parents for the beautiful voice she sang with. Encouraged by the words of appreciation her dad composed a duet and trained her to render the composition on stage. Velrose put in her best and got herself modelled as her dad explained the requirements of the stage. Avers and Velrose together created magic on stage that signalled the birth of a great child artiste at the age of 7 on the professional stage. 

There was no looking back. Velrose's debut on stage had a thunderous welcome. Success was at her doorstep. A star was born. With messages of congratulations blowing like the winds in all directions, Avers did not let his daughter bloat in pride but instilled in her the desire to master the art that she possessed and got her enrolled for music classes learning the Music Solfeggio and theory and beginning to play the Keyboard. Today, Velrose is a certified ABRSM and Trinity College London Grade 5  keyboard player and has completed her Grade 2 in Classical Guitar. At the age of 11, she started to play in the church choirs as she pursued her academic studies. 

Her talent kept her soaring higher with accolades won for her musical talent and she kept thanking God firmly believing that all success that came her way was because of her involvement with the church's sacred music. She grew up getting exposed to the singing of her idols Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. She wished to soar higher and higher with her family's backing and began to blow the trumpet heeding to the suggestion of her dad Avers. Her choice was soon rewarded. Her hard work and dedication to music placed her among the 10 finalists in ‘Muscat got Talent’ as she barely entered her teens. She was also declared the winner at the inter-school competition held in Oman for the Konkani solo she played on the Keyboard at the Jhankaar.

Success and unfair criticism too came to her in all that she did but she learnt to take things in her stride, surging ahead with her head high. When on holidays in Goa, she acted for Prince Jacob in his tiatr Pap Tujem Prachit Mhojem. It was her performance in this tiatr that made her a star and brought out her acting skills that she decided to hone and got herself enrolled in a university in Canada, graduating with an honours degree from the York University in Theatre. 

With her dad firmly footed in the Goan culture, Velrose was naturally inclined to Konkani music and began playing for various Konkani albums. Her popularity soared and she began singing internationally touring the world and performing in Canada, UK, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and India. She recently played for Viva Goa in Toronto, Canada which is believed to be North America’s largest Goan festival. 

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world forcing people indoors, Velrose kept the spirits of Goans high, posting her trumpet melodies which made her dearer to the Goan diaspora. Her original compositions in lyrics and music posted on her YouTube channel, have made her a household name with the Konkani song GOA featuring her alongside Alison Gonsalves becoming the most viral Konkani musical track. With her younger sister Velriza honing her skills in drumming, her house in Santo Estevam has turned out to be a non-stop studio of music whenever she visits her homeland.

The sky's the limit for the one desiring to soar higher and higher and Velrose is determined to take her music transcending all barriers. She has kept herself engaged by working on original Konkani music tracks along with collaborations with various local Toronto artistes as well as Goan artists. 

Velrose has a dream of celebrating her Goan cultural heritage across the globe and aims to keep the flag of Konkani flying high at the summit of art and culture.

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