CHENNAI: A group of 51 musicians of Pioneer Music Gym (PMG) set the stage on fire at Crescendo’18, a fundraiser, on Saturday. We settled down for an evening of melody. From songs of AR Rahman to the melodious and nostalgic tunes of Ilaiyaraaja to Hindi classics like Yeh raatein yeh mausam by late Ravi Shankar Sharma, and fast numbers like Rum bum bum, the concert had it all.
The proceeds from the programme will be used for the outreach programmes of Madras Dyslexia Association (MDA) to help children with dyslexia discover their potential.
“PMG has raised funds for other organisations like Swabodhini and Anandam. This time they chose us. There are two advantages — we raise funds, and audience who have attended will know about dyslexia,” said D Chandrasekhar, president, MDA. PMG was formed in May 2016 with 15 members. Today they have close to 90 singers from different walks of life — doctors, lawyers, CA, entrepreneurs, bankers, IT professionals, sports personalities, students, and home makers. They are led by Pioneer Suresh, a drummer, who has over three decades of experience in light music orchestration. “We are here for the passion for music, not for the money.
That’s why it excites us more when we perform for such good causes. We sing in both Tamil and Hindi,” shared Sivasubramanian, a member of PMG. The orchestra had members as young as a 16 and as old as 65. It had four different groups — Symphony, Euphony, Harmony and Rhapsody. “Most of our practise sessions are on Sundays. But for concerts, we have intense practise sessions. We try and finish work a little early and rush for rehearsals every day. Moreover, Suresh is a task master, so that keeps us going,” said Usha, another member of the orchestra.