CHENNAI : The sound of violins, viola and cello reverberates as we enter the rehearsal hall at Cine Music Producers Association. A 25-piece Madras Chamber Orchestra with an augmented choir of 45 from Nevalim School of Music and Arts and a church choir from Anna Nagar, under the baton of renowned conductor Bernard Wacheux was a sight to behold! They are gearing up to stage its annual Christmas performance on December 1, and we catch up with the orchestra trust’s board members: Joshua Mascreen, Jerry Fernandes, Irene Ranjore, Bernard Wacheux and singer Kalpana RagavendarThe orchestra was formed 43 years ago by Irene’s brother Malcolm Ranjore.
They have several loyal patrons like the British Council, Max Mueller Bhavan and the American Consulate, among others. “After a while, for about 10 years, the choir didn’t function due to lack of funds and also because the ‘string industry’ went through a dry spell as music directors travelled to Bengaluru to do recordings,” narrates Irene.
But the Irene revived the orchestra with the help of Bernard. “He has put his heart and soul into it because of his passion for music,” she smiles, pointing to Bernard, who leads a triple career as a violinist soloist/chamber player, conductor and teacher. Bernard is not new to Chennai, and recalls the first time he met Irene. “It was in 2009 during a master class and that’s when we joined hands to revive it,” smiles conductor.
The orchestra is excited about the Christmas music festival and here’s why: “Apart from performing in the city, we hope to carry the western classical music produced here to other Indian cities as well. I would say that the orchestra is on the path of being on par with the European standards of an orchestra,” he claims.
Elucidating more about the orchestra’s emphasis on western classical music, Joshua explains, “We have established a trust under the orchestra to engage youngsters with western classical music. There’s a huge gap now and we want to bridge that.”
The Christmas music festival will be an amalgamation of different music — predominantly western classical and also pieces of Carnatic rhapsodies. “We are having multiple dimensions to the fest and it will have different flavours of music. We are glad that Kalpana is on board with us. She’ll be displaying the best of both worlds!” he adds.
Kalpana’s forte is film music but she has been trained in Carnatic and also in western classical. “The problem is many in the city don’t understand the beauty of western classical music,” she rues and says that the present film music trend isn’t healthy. Agreeing with Kalpana, Irene shares that the current generation needs music that will ‘feed and cleanse their soul’. “There are a lot of distractions for the younger generation now and they need music that will elevate them,” she shares.
For Kalpana, the string section is the ‘queen of instruments’ and the artiste is ecstatic about performing with Bernard and the orchestra for the first time. “I was initially nervous. But, Bernard is not only a conductor but an amazing teacher. I am learning new things every day,” she smiles.
The orchestra’s glory days are long gone but it’s trying to bring it back. “During Ilaiyaraja’s time, we were very busy. But today’s musician directors don’t support us. We also need support from the government,” says Jerry, one of the founding members of the orchestra.
The Madras Chamber Orchestra will stage the Christmas music festival on December 1 at MCC school auditorium, Harrington Road from 6:30 pm onwards. For details, call: 9884566038