Xmas carols in full glory

CHENNAI: Looking for some bountiful Christmas cheer this season? You may want to set your sights on the finals of the 'Carol The King' Choral competition. The three-day fest, which saw the participation of  groups from schools, colleges and church choirs, was held recently at the Hindustan University and will culminate in a grand final on December 16. "This kind of competition being conducted by an academic institution is a first-of-its-kind," said Dr A George, Dean of Student Affairs. "In fact, this was the vision of our founder before he passed away in 2006," he added. With 35 groups in all — a majority belonging to the school category, the enthusiasm of the participants was contagious. The youngest participant on stage was four-year-old Lydion of MCC Campus School. The young boy had many, including the judges, in awe of his impressive drumming skills. "Whoever said that youngsters are not interested in formal music was quite mistaken," shared Winfred Chelliah, convenor and one of the judges at the event. "Of course, most groups chose to play it safe with traditional styles, perhaps thinking that old timers like us would not be open to others. But we are more than willing to judge music unfamiliar to us," he added.He cited the example of the rock goup — Awake and Alive, which entered the competition in the Church category. Martha Howie, a judge on the panel, told the band, "When you said you were going to sing O Holy Night (without a choir), I thought there was going to be noise, but your version was quite lovely." Asked whether there were repeats of popular carols over the three days, judges Howie and Saradha Schafter looked surprised and nodded, "No, none actually."Most church groups were a tad shy about the publicity however, and when approached, admitted that they are not here for the competition, but more for the singing. Rita Samuel, choir master of the Layman's Evangelical Fellowship (LEF), said, "Our choir is 33 years old and this is the first time we've entered a competition (in Samuel's tenure). We really just came here to get some valuable judging tips on our singing and spread the joy of Christmas." While one generally expects a choir to be led by a conductor, there was one college group that decided to give this norm a little twist. Daniel FJ, who led The Shamrocks of Patrician College, and whose efforts were  well applauded, said, "We decided on a medley-cum-dance routine, unlike the conventional practice of standing still and singing." He added, "If the choir could dance, the conductor had to lead them, and so that was a lot of fun for us as well." No doubt, a little boogie to up X'mas spirits never hurt anybody.