Hyderabad: The 60-member Hyderabad Archdiocese Choir celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday. The choir members, who belong to different parishes in the twin cities, have been performing on special occasions.
On Saturday, they rendered hymns and choir at the special mass held at St Joseph’s Cathedral to mark their decade-long journey and their performance was highly appreciated.
Cardinal Poola Anthony, addressing the Mass, said, “Singing is twice as praying. I call on the choristers to rededicate themselves to God.” On this occasion, the Cardinal felicitated Michael Peria, director and conductor of the choir.
The special mass of the decennial celebration was a mix of Latin and English. Later, the choristers were felicitated at the pastoral centre. The members performed some of the works of Mozart.
Michael Peria, narrating the band’s journey, said, “In 2010, we had an idea of how to make the choir of the Archdiocese better. With like-minded mates, we developed the idea and discussed it with Thumma Bala, the then Archbishop of Hyderabad. He appreciated the idea and approved the initiative in 2014. By singing in English, Tamil and Telugu, our teams perform on all the important occasions of this archdiocese. The group started with 25 members and has now grown into a 60-member band.”
Divya Prathima, a core member of this choir, said, “Each member in this team, religiously takes part in the practice. We meet on a Sunday each month here at this pastoral center, during the events frequent practice takes place.”
Jaden Collins, anchor, explained the history and the events throughout the ten years. Blake Smith, a vocalist, shared, “Being a part of this choir helped me to learn the music, which is of international quality.” Lelani Reynolds, part of the band, said, “We always want to give the best performance every time. The performance is getting better and better.”
