There were 60 choir groups from 16 countries and just one entry from India, BEAT (Bank Employees Art Troupe) from Chennai. They were participating in the 4 Vietnam International Choir Competition, held in Hoi An, Vietnam recently.
BEAT won silver awards in the two events they took part in. It was organised by Interkultur Management GmbH of Germany with the support of the Govt. of Vietnam.
The other groups were from Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Finland, Philippines and Japan.
BEAT was formed in 1991, by Rajeswari Sivaramakrishnan with bank employees and was a founder member of the Madras Youth Choir, mentored by the late M.B. Srinivasan. The current members of Beat are a mixed bunch.
Rajeswari is the only trained musician in the group of 25 men and women, whose ages range from 22 to 70.
The members meet and train under her every Sunday for 3 hours as a hobby. Most of the other participating choir groups were trained at music institutions.
BEAT came to know about the competition through friends. After getting details from the internet, they applied for participation in two categories suitable to them (‘Mixed Choir Difficulty Level II’ and ‘Folklore’) from among the many different ones. . It entailed rigorous practise for a year, according to Rajeswari.
“We had to send the notations in the western style eight months earlier,” she points out.
A Vietnamese song about peace and solidarity had to be performed with all the groups at the inaugural function, for which a CD was received by all the participating teams earlier. She says,“It was a proud moment for us, when we were made to stand in the front row for the song; we were also given the opportunity to sing a Punjabi song at the inaugural event, while the Kapali temple, Ripon Building were projected in the back drop.”
On the second day, all the groups were taken to the market place of the city to perform under the Friendship Choir category for the general public. “We sang in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Tamil (a song by Jayakanthan). Indian melodies received a lot of appreciation; many people took photos with us”, says Rajeswari.
Strict discipline was followed in entering the auditorium or moving around. On the third day also, everyone was in traditional attire. In the folk music event, BEAT’s female members were in Kandangi sarees and the men in dhoti, ‘munda baniyan’ and ‘mundasu’.
As per the international grading system, marks were given by a five, eminent jury members belonging to different countries for quality of voice, authenticity and fidelity to the score. BEAT won silver for fidelity to the score.
The award ceremony was on the fourth day. “When they called the conductor’s name, announced ‘India’ and I was given a bouquet and the diploma, it was a moment I can’t possibly describe; and I must thank all my members for it”, declares an emotional Rajeswari.
After that there was a parade by the 3000 participants on the streets.
BEAT members were dressed in the traditional costumes of various states including Tamil Nadu. When they passed through the streets singing Indian songs, people shouted “India, India”, overwhelming the members with happiness and pride.
