KOCHI: The Bangalore School of Music Ensemble, Rock Of Ages and the Fruzu band, performed, to acclaim, at the Toc-H centenary celebrations There was a time when choral and four-part singing was only associated with church music. However, Victor Thomas Abraham and Prakash Mathen, of the Bangalore School of Music Ensemble have demonstrated that it can be linked to any genre. Their repertoire includes Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Paul McCartney and the Everly Brothers. The Ensemble is a 40 member choral group, with members belonging to different professions and age groups. The youngest is fifteen while the oldest, Victor, is sixty. Every year, they perform to a single theme, This year it is ‘Love’.
So far, they have performed on World Music Day, the Karnataka State Concerts, Miss World Contest, and the East-West Music and Dance Festival. The group has also made it a custom to contribute one part of their earnings to the needy.
The Rock of Ages (RoA) was founded by Prakash and Sofia George Mathen in 2006. The group sings classical, pop, gospel, Afro- American, country, western and film music in four-part harmony in several languages like English, Latin, Spanish, Hindi, and Malayalam.
Jerry Amaldev, the well-known Mollywood music director, was the conductor in the the initial days. They have also been trained by Branko Stark, one of the best musicians in Europe. At present, Anson Mathew is the conductor. “Now we are planning to hold a musical event in Kochi along with the Kent orchestra from Britain in May,” says Prakash.
The Ensemble and RoA performed together on Saturday for the event, ‘OB- LA- DI, OB-LA- DA’, conducted by the TOC-H International Service Organisation for their centenary celebrations.