All that jazz: The Madras Guild of Performing Arts is bringing an evening filled with Blues and Jazz choir music

The Madras Guild of Performing Arts (MGPA) may still be in the kindling stage of their existence. But the mark that this group has made in Chennai’s cultural space cannot be understated. This month’s end will see the stage set on fire by this talented group that has some of the finest artistes from across various musical ensembles in the city. Taking it a notch higher, Chennai can look forward to MGPA’s Bring On The Jazz concert for a series of melodious jazz and blues performances by their choirs, musicians including Jaydeep Vivekanand on the Lead Guitar, Mario Rohan on the Bass, Rahul Gopal on the Drums and some specials by Timothy Madhukar, Sharanya Gopinath, Sangita Santosham and Zippora Madhukar.

To further understand what are some of the highlights we can look forward to and more, we talk to Conductor Atul Jacob Isaac. Excerpts:

Also Read: DWAM fuses jazz with Hindustani classical music 

What went into the ideation of this concert?
There are numerous choirs, music schools, instrumentalists and their own audiences in Chennai, India and the world at large. In our perspective, we want to treat our audience to an array of talent while respectfully looking at other ensembles for their strength, their music and audience as one. When we think of concerts to perform, we primarily avoid repetition in repertoire and venues. The MGPA as an independent ensemble thus confidently performs what is unique to us and is unlikely that other ensembles would.

What are some of the performances to look out for?
Our soloists will render arrangements from revered legends in jazz & blues like Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others. It isn’t often that choirs in India perform Jazz — first for its challenging understanding of the style, the nature of how it must be performed, its setting, the voice balance and blend needed to enjoy this first before presenting it, next. The adult choir will render heavy numbers from Porgy & Bess composed by George Gershwin, Manhattan Transfer’s Bird Land and the #shortz, our younger choir render pieces like On the Sunny Side and Billy & Ming. While there is always room for more, we’ve done our best to have it all!

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How has your previous concert changed the perception towards choirs?
When people hear the word ‘choir’, they naturally think it is only sacred western classical music. Lift Every Voice — our debut concert featured music across different eras, genres and styles — showcasing that there is so much more to choral music! We rendered music in Zambian, Swahili, French, German, and Latin across Classical eras to contemporary pieces like Bohemian Rhapsody and other pop hits.

₹100 onwards.
On September 24.
7 pm onwards. At Music Academy, Royapettah.