JOIN USThe visiting choir impresses one and all
Heal the world. Make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race. There are people dying, if you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me. Many of you would recognise these lines sung by king of pop, the late Michael Jackson. Released in 1991, the song featured children living in countries suffering from upheaval. It was Jackson’s motive to bring peace and to unite people through music.
But he was not the only one who was moved by the unrest amongst nations. But there was another man, some 50 years prior, Christopher Moore, who decided to use music as a means to bring peace in society. He introduced Chicago Children’s Choir, today one of the most popular musical choirs across the world. Every year, more and more young children with musical talent join the choir and perform all over the world.
After giving performances in different countries and in front of dignitaries like Bill and Hillary Clinton and H.H. Dalai Lama to name some, the 2008 Emmy Award winning choir was in the Capital to spread the message of harmony, on our Republic Day.
The musical evening opened with Zeshan Bagewadi’s rendition of the National Anthem, who is also part of the choir. It was an amazing start by Zeshan who was assisted by his choir fellows in giving the anthem a different feel. Within a few seconds, the auditorium of the Islamic Cultural Centre reverberated with the beats of drums and the chords of guitar as children of the choir began their show with Ross Copperman’s We are the one.
It was followed by Zeshan’s classical opera piece Liberame. Surprise of the evening came up when the Choir sang Zikr-e-Allahu, a musical composition by AR Rahman in Urdu and a South Korean song. Performing one song after the other, the youngsters also entertained the audience with some good country music like Matishayus One Day.
The director of the choir, Jospheline Lee, who was excited to perform in India for the first time, presented an amazing musical performance on Ramayana. The two compositions Namo Namo Siya Ram and Om Shanti Om echoed and reverberated in the auditorium filled to capacity. The children also presented an Indo-Western fusion piece with a lot of rap elements added to it. Their enthusiasm was at its peak when they grooved and clapped together and matched it up with excellent footwork.
Later, it was time to remember Michael Jackson. The choir sang one song after another including, They don’t care about us, Black or white, It’s just another part of me, Keep the faith and Heal the world. The wondrous musical evening ended with the choir’s original composition I need to survive. A most engaging and unforgettable evening.