The Mehli Mehta Music Foundation’s Singing Tree Choir comes together with the German youth choir of Ulmer Spatzen for their annual choral performance at Afghan Church
Khursheed Printer (in black) conducting the Singing Tree choirs and string ensemble. Pic Courtesy/MMMF; (left) a view of the newly restored Afghan Church. File pics
August is a busy month for Farahanaaz Sohrab Dastur. The honorary director, education programmes of the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF) is in the middle of choir rehearsals when she picks up the phone. “This is the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation. We host our annual performances in August,” Dastur explains. On Wednesday, they will conduct the final performance at Afghan Church (St John The Evangelist Church) in Colaba alongside the visiting Ulmer Spatzen youth choir from Germany.
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A view of the nave of the Afghan Church
Songs for unity
Titled Beyond Boundaries, the three concerts are part of the theme of a united world. “When children sing, and they understand the meaning of these songs, they imbibe the emotions naturally,” Dastur remarks. For the last six weeks, the children from the junior, middle, senior and youth choir of the Foundation’s Singing Tree Choir, along with their string ensemble and instrumentalists have been in preparation. “We will be singing in eight languages including Hindi, Maori, German, Spanish and French,” she shares. The two concerts at NCPA and St Andrew’s Auditorium saw close to 100 children on stage, some as young as six years old.
Salome Rebello
The Mumbai choir has been accompanied by the visiting Ulmer Spatzen choir from Germany. Conductor and director, Salome Rebello has been here before. “I started here [at MMMF] 20 years ago as a choir conductor. Later, I travelled to Israel and did my Masters in music, before eventually moving to Germany” Rebello reveals.
For those who find the name of Ulm familiar, a certain Albert Einstein was born there. But the choir is an important part of its culture. Rebello adds, “The choir organisation has 220 children, with the flagship youth choir accounting for 45. Of these, 29 are travelling with us.”
Conducts the Singing Tree choir and the Ulmer Spatzen choir
Building up the songs
One of the key elements of these performances has been the compositions. The pieces focus on the theme of unity. Among these are A la puerta del cielo, a Spanish folk lullaby; Die Forelle by Franz Schubert; Choral hymns from Rigveda by the 19th century composer Gustav Holst; Ma navu based on Hebrew text by Yossi Spivak and the surprising Yaaron, Dosti sung famously by the late KK, arranged by Rebello.
Salome Rebello
“I wrote that composition when he [KK] passed away in 2022. When I knew we were visiting, I reworked it into a more complex piece to suit the talent.” We wonder if Hindi was a challenge for the choir from Ulm. “They loved it. That’s the thing about singing in a choir. You learn to adapt to the sound, the pronunciation of the words,” he points out.
Over to Colaba
The history-tinted stained-glass windows and walls of the Afghan Church makes for an exciting venue for both choirs. Dastur admits, “At the Foundation, we believe that children must be aware of their heritage. It will be great if the choir can help in some way towards the restoration,” Dastur shares, adding that they will have an offering box at the concert for donors.
Zubin Mehta addresses the children at the NCPA concert
Rebello notes, “I am curious to know how it will sound at the church. While we will have fewer songs, the church was built specifically for choral performances.”
Is the preparation different then, we wonder? “To be honest, we will go there a couple of hours early for dress rehearsals. Maybe we will play around with positioning, or the voices based on the echo, but sometimes, all you need to do is sing,” the Germany-based conductor says.
The children have already met one icon of the city in conductor Zubin Mehta, who was present at the NCPA performance last week. “It was such a delight. He took time to speak with the children, and they were in the element to perform for him,” Dastur recalls. Now, it is time they took a look at another in Colaba.
Also Read: Zubin Mehta in Mumbai: My life conducting orchestra is like a molten lava, it never stops
ON August 28; 7 pm
AT Afghan Church, Navy Nagar, Colaba. Entry First come-first serve
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