CHENNAI: The soulful renditions rising up in the room of practice lifted the spirits of the singers preparing for their special performance. It was not only the love for music that they joined the Madras Youth Choir (MYC), but also the legacy of MB Srinivasan. Even though the choir (formed in 1970) completed their 50 years two years ago, the pandemic and the restrictions that came along with it prevented the members from marking the day and celebrating it.
Archana Natarajan, member of the executive committee and communication and media committee, who is gearing up for the upcoming jubilee celebrations along with her teammates, says, “We made use of the pandemic days by practising songs online. We learned a lot of new songs and revived a few old pieces. In choir, we have six parts — mezzo, soprano and alto (for women), high tenor, middle tenor and bass voice (for men). Perfecting all the parts, we learned everything through Google Meet and Zoom. We were also conducting classes and programmes for the children. But, we were not able to do an event where everybody sang together online. So, we postponed the golden jubilee celebrations and now it feels like the right time to conduct the event. We are also very excited because this is the first offline programme our choir is organising after the pandemic.”
Considered one of the pioneers of Indian choral music due to his vast knowledge in Hindustani, Carnatic and Western music, Srinivasan aimed to bring people together through music. Five decades down the lane, the choir propagates the same spirit and spreads values through their music. Archana shares, “Our founder wanted to create an Indian choral genre which will use western musical techniques to bring Indian music to life. With MYC we are coming together as a team, singing songs that centre on patriotism, environment, human and social values and training students from schools.”
Students of Bala Mandir Vidyalaya Primary School, Satyamurthi High School (Bala Mandir), Saraswathi Vidyalaya, Thyagaraya Nagar Primary School and Shraddha Maanu Foundation who are being trained by MYC will kickstart the evening.
A group of 40 singers will be next in line and will perform along with a harmonist, tablist and guitarist. While the senior choir intends to perform 10-12 songs, the sister choir, MBSYC (MB Srinivasan Youth Choir) from Thiruvananthapuram will perform four songs. The night which is also a tribute to their founder will be inaugurated by singer M Jayachandran, who also considers Srinivasan as his guru. The event will be held at Raga Sudha Hall on February 25 at 5.30 pm. The entry is free for all.
Choral composer
MB Srinivasan has come up with more than 200 choral compositions. In 1987, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award