Songs of hope and joy

Glorious, an independent choir, has been performing in the City for the last 24 years.
They have opened a new chapter by starting a children’s choir for those aged between eight and 15.

The 100-member Glorious ‘Children’s Choir’ made their debut concert in the City
recently.

It is only discipline, commitment and dedication that have brought the choir thus far and this was evident even when the children performed.

Being an Easter concert, the songs were centered around the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Both the ‘Glorious’ and the ‘Children’s Choir’ sang a set of 20 odd songs that spoke of hope and a new beginning. The energy and enthusiasm among the singers was infectious for they had those in the audience also sing along. The choir rendered all the pieces to perfection with not a note out of place.

The choir has a good mix of people from different nationalities and languages. The singers and the soloists could easily relate to the songs and that made the performance special. Among the songs that the choir sang were Via Dolorosa by Michelle Khiante from Mizoram. 

Junior Bay, a tenor soloist from Congo, rendered Mi Corazon — My Heart Belongs to You with Reji Chandy.

Junior Bay, who relocated to the City to pursue his education, said, “Staying away from my family and friends makes me feel alone and lost. These songs of hope
give me the confidence to move on.”

Another soloist, Karun, sang ‘End of the Beginning.’ He said, “I graduated from college last week and after five years of familiar faces and best friends, I suddenly find myself at the end of a secure life. But in another perspective, it is the beginning of a new life and journey.”

The children’s choir sang a few pieces including, ‘On Time God’, ‘Someone is praying for you’ and the concert concluded with ‘Alpha and Omega’, which saw the
‘Glorious’ and the ‘Children’s Choir’ merge, as one voice, in a thrilling display of vocal dynamics and the music literally set the tone for Easter.    
    
Talking about how the idea of a children’s choir came about, Esther Chandy, co-founder of Glorious, said, “It’s been a dream from a long time to start a children’s choir and even the choice of songs are similar to ‘Glorious’ songs because we wanted to bring the children into mainstream singing right away.”

Sharing the experience of training the ‘Children’s Choir, director Reji Chandy, said, “Training children is more fulfilling and easier than training an older group. There’s a certain freshness and innocence about them. And the enthusiasm and joy to learn is contagious.” 

Those who watched the concert said that the children stole the show and the mix of songs were quite impressive.

 Susan John, a member of the audience, said, “The week just before Easter is
considered holy and what better way to set the tone for Easter than listen to some brilliant songs of hope?”