The Philadelphia Boys’ Choir and Chorale performs in Bengaluru this weekend

The Legato School of Music in collaboration with The Bangalore Men present Sing Joyfully!, an evening of classical, sacred and spiritual choral music. The evening will also feature Emmy-award winning and Grammy-nominated Philadelphia Boys’ Choir and Chorale (PBCC), who perform as part of their all-India tour. Jeffrey R Smith, the artistic director and conductor of PBCC lets us in on everything around their upcoming performance.

What have you planned for the performance in Bengaluru?

This choir of 65 boys and men will perform mostly American sacred music — some a cappella music and some pieces accompanied by piano. They include spirituals, classical, folk and other styles.

How did you decide on the set list?

As this performance is part of a service at St John’s Church, we wanted to include mostly sacred music. Some of these selections are part of our standard repertoire – songs we sing every year for audiences around the world; the rest of the selections were chosen to showcase various genres of American music.

How did the idea of coming to India take place? Was it something you had been planning for quite some time?

I have long wanted to take PBCC on a tour through India. The culture here is so vibrant and the music is quite different from American music. So, I felt it would be a fantastic experience for our boys. In our 50+ years of touring, we have not had the pleasure of touring India, so I was excited to make it finally happen this year. Though the idea has been in my mind for many years, the actual planning of the tour began last summer. Our tour company, Classical Movements, worked hard on the logistics of booking the venues, transportation, sightseeing and accommodations. Their founder and president, Neeta Helms, was born and raised in India; so we couldn’t ask for a better company to arrange this tour.

Since you will be performing in Chennai next, would the same pieces be performed there as well?

Some of our repertoire in Chennai will be the same, but we will also include some more secular music — pop songs. For Bengaluru, we are focusing on spiritual music. The history of boys' choir was based in the church, so boys’ voices are very well suited for sacred music.

Following the performance in India, what is next for the choir?

After we return home, we will begin a new season. This includes graduating some of our singers and bringing in more boys. Approximately 20 new boys are brought in each year. Most have been through our training program and move into our performing choir in September. We will then begin practicing music for our busy Christmas season in December, which is very popular in the US.

Entry free. August 11, 6 pm. At St John’s Church, Promenade Road.

Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com

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