You would never guess how many western classical musicians Coimbatore had, unless you were at the Parish Hall of CSI All Souls' Church, Race Course, on Saturday night.
Yuletide
Young Men's Christian Association's 40 member choir along with 30 musicians, most of them from Coimbatore, presented Winter Rose- an evening of Christmas carols.
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Led by Joseph Kirubabalan, who also played the keyboard, the choir made music to a full house.
Kirubabalan, who has been conducting concerts since the age of 25, was the cynosure as he swayed and bounced on the stool behind his keyboard.
The orchestra had violins, brass instruments, wind instruments, a keyboard, an organ and a cello. Musicians came down even from Hebron School, Udhagamandalam to give a flawless performance and spread the Christmas cheer.
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The performance began with the carol Winter Rose. The tempo slowly rose, as the men and women enchanted the crowd with their lilts and cadences. The crowd rose up in applause after the perfect renditions of Gloria, When will He come and Dance into the light. The choir women were dressed in either light pink or light blue. Their altos and sopranos were perfect for the traditional carols and a couple of lead solo singers had the crowd smiling in admiration.
The 55 minute classical performance gradually simmered down and closed with the carol Lo, how a rose. The concert will be broadcast on All India Radio's FM Rainbow on December 25.
Hebron's young stars will also be performing at the combined carol service at St. Joseph's, Coonoor, this Friday.
All Souls' church wore a festive look with lights, stalls and smiles. The concert sets the tone for next month's festivities. The recent performances in the city, of both Indian and Western classical music and modern Tamil and Western music, are a boon for music lovers and they wish for many more scintillating performances this winter.