An evening of classic and contemporary choral songs awaits music lovers in the city this Sunday. On their debut performance, Bengaluru choir Rhapsody, led by Founder-Director Sudhakar John Doraiswamy, will perform at the 150-year- old St. Andrew’s Church on Cubbon Road on October 9.
“I’ve wanted to set up a choir like this for a long time,” says Sudhakar. “I handpicked the choir. It is also exciting to have the Bangalore String Ensemble and pianist Santosh Baynes accompanying us. The members of the choir are in the age group of 13 to 70. Around 18 will be performing at this concert.”
Titled ‘Hallowed by Thy Name’, the concert is a “thanks offering to God. I want the audience to experience the music in its totality. For the one hour that we perform I want them to forget themselves, be lost in the music and leave everything behind. At the end of the day, I hope our listeners go home feeling happy.”
Sudhakar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Church Music, majoring in choir conducting and composition. Proficient in piano, bass and flute, Sudhakar has conducted a 500-voice choir in Manila, Philippines as well as large choirs across India and in Bengaluru, his hometown.
The choir was formed in June 2016.
“After I returned to Bangalore, I worked with Symphonia, a semi-professional, independent choir. I directed them for a bit. The choir belonged to someone else. For a long time, I wanted to start a choir of my own, but a lot of things didn’t work out. It was only during my recent tenure in St. Mark’s Cathedral, that I could realise my dream. I met many good friends who helped me put the choir together. We want to use our God-given gifts to raise funds for charity too in the future,” says Sudhakar.
What inspired the name? He says the choir was throwing some names around and then Rhapsody came up. “We checked to see if there was already a choir with the same name and we found none. It is such a common name and we were surprised when we realised that no choir with the name anywhere in the world. So we decided to go with it. Rhapsody has a nice ring to it.”
Rhapsody’s repertoire is extensive, with specialisation in various forms of worship music. “This concert is a mix of classical and contemporary. This is the first time anyone is doing a concept where we’re featuring only two composers. For contemporary, we will be performing choral arrangements by Tom Fettke, while for classical, we will sing Antonio Vivaldi’s classic ‘Gloria’. The first half will be completely accapella, while ‘Gloria’ will see the Bangalore String Ensemble and Santosh Baynes join us.”
Sudhakar says there is plenty of scope for choral music. “It is very much alive. Anywhere you look – schools, colleges and music events, it occupies a big space in the city’s soundscape. I had some very good teachers and worked with great musicians when I was abroad. It was always my dream to bring that quality of music to my own people.”
He adds that the Western Music scene, is very strong in the city. “There are many kids who go to music school, finish their grades and don’t know what to do when they finish. They don’t have an opportunity to perform anywhere. My long term plan is to gather all these young musicians and give them an avenue to perform.”
Catch Rhapsody live at St. Andrew’s Church on October 9 from 6:15 p.m. onwards.
