Young talents take the stage

The City will soon see its first ‘Children’s Carnatic Choir’, which is directed by none other than singer Bombay Jayashri.

Dressed in bright purple, pink and red, the choir performed to a select audience at a preview to their main show to be held on August 2 and 3.

The soothing voices of the 18-member choir were very different from the usual
Carnatic group songs.

The choir not only balanced the traditional and modern notes and included a dash of theatre elements but also brought in an energy that left the audience asking for more. And this was only a glimpse of what they had to offer.

Organised by Bhoomija as part of its one-year celebrations, the performance is a fundraiser for Drishti Eye Care, a rural healthcare organisation.

The funds of the concert will be used to conduct free cataract operations. The talent pool were not hand-picked but in fact selected through word of mouth.

Gayathri Krishna, the managing trustee of Bhoomija, says that they always wanted to do a fund-raiser.

When the idea was floated to Bombay Jayashri, she suggested starting a Carnatic children’s choir.

“That’s when we started spreading the word and the children just came to us and here we are today. They have trained and practised really hard with Jayashri and her team. We are now looking forward to their debut performance together,” adds Gayathri.

For Jayashri, on the other hand, it was one of her dreams to have a Carnatic choir. And working with these children came as a pleasant surprise.

“They are all so talented and energetic. Every time we sang together, we ended up looking at the music in a new way. Just to share those seven notes is such a wonderful experience,” she adds.

The choir comprises of 18 children aged between nine and 16. All the children are from Bangalore itself and they will travel and perform in other cities in the country.

While this is the first time that Bhoomija is doing this, they plan to take it forward by adding more children every year.

“The children will retire from the choir at the age of 17 and slowly, each year we plan to bring in more children,” says Gayathri.

The 70-minute show will be held on August 2 at Brigade MLR Convention Centre, JP Nagar and August 3 at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall.

For details, call 9986749181.