Madras Youth Choir goes West

Indian flavor for World Choir Games

The Madras Youth Choir (MYC) from India can´t wait to celebrate and sing in Cincinnati 2012 – a long journey for singing together at the World Choir Games!

Since summer 2010 they’ve been planning to go for the big goal, for the World Choir Games and now, after special talks to the Music Advisory Committee for the 2012 Games it became real: Indian choral music will be at the 7th World Choir Games. 

It all began in 1970, when Vasanthi Devi (along with K. S. Subramanian and the late Zahida Srinivasan) put together a group of school and college students for a patriotic music programme on All India Radio. What was meant to be a one-off performance ended up leading to the formation of the MYC under the aegis of the late M.B. Srinivasan, a pioneer of Indian choral music.

“He introduced Western choral techniques into Carnatic and Hindustani classical and light musical tunes composed by him and set to the lyrics of nationalist poets — it had never been done before in Madras” said Shri.D. Ramachandran in an interview in an Indian newspaper. Ramachandran is Secretary of Madras Youth Choir.

This is the first time the Madras Youth Choir is travelling to the United States. A collaborative performance between the Cincinnati Indian American singers and a choir from India will be a historic occasion. The Cincinnati Indian American singers is a group of Indian Americans singing traditional Indian music.

The Madras Youth Choir sings Indian classical and light music, but with harmonies, counterpoint and chords. They have a repertoire of nearly 120 songs in 16 Indian languages (with the odd Russian and French number thrown in for good measure). And they've been at it — without a break — for the last 40 years.

Along with them the Akshayam Choir, inspired by some of the Madras Youth Choir members, will put together the Indian flavor at Cincinnati, 2012. Cincinnati USA is the first city in the United States to host the WCG. Registration deadline for the 7th World Choir Games is December 1, 2011.