Festival Choristers enthral audience of 2,000 with rapturous music

Hyderabad: The popular civil servants-founded 19-year-old group Festival Choristers enthralled an audience of over 2,000 people with their musical performances on Tuesday as part of the Christmas celebrations.

Founded by Daphne Rebello, Rachel Chatterjee and Aruna Bahuguna, the group comprises 45 singers and musicians from different communities, varied age groups and occupations.

The group concluded the event with a medley of carols, for which the audience also joined them.

Dr Sujaya Sagar, chief anaesthesiologist at a hospital, said: “This was a great experience to reconnect with the God, the birth of Christ and his death for humanity, explained through carols. It was an unforgettable evening.”

Commodore Champion, a renowned pipe organist, said, “This concert couldn’t have been better.”

Aruna Bahuguna, an IPS officer, told Deccan Chronicle: “In 20 years, we have grown from a small group of about 15. We used to sing in small halls, but as the response grew, we have moved to bigger auditoriums like Ravindra Bharathi, to accommodate larger audience.”

“The theme of the concert was ‘Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me’.  The audience comprised of people from all communities and age groups, who were drawn by our use of Western and Indian instruments,” Bahuguna said.

Bahuguna — saying that the group was formed to spread peace and harmony through music — thanked Susheel Patyanadan, the dean of a medical college, for doubling up as the conductor, keyboardist Dr Naveen Elias, also a medical practitioner, and Deepti Kumar, who coordinated the arrangements.