Trinity choir's first city trip

KOLKATA: The Trinity College choir will be performing in Kolkata on Friday at the St Paul''s Cathedral. The 26-member team arrives in the city on Thursday evening on their maiden India tour.
Master of Trinity College Nobel laureate Amartya Sen will also be present at the performance. He is currently in Shantiniketan, said Calcutta Foundation chairperson Shamlu Dudeja.
The foundation, an NGO, is organising the Kolkata leg of the choir''s visit to the country.The foundation has its own Western classical orchestra, touted to be the only one in the state. This orchestra comprises mainly of boys from less privileged backgrounds.
"The idea of having the choir visit India was first mooted by former ad-man Bal Mundkar whom I met at Russi Mody''s house," said Dudeja.
Mundkar,a resident of Goa, met Trinity''s director of music and choir conductor Dr Richard Marlow and convinced him to do an India tour. The choir is travelling to five destinations — Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Goa — with their unique sound and some Indian adaptations like a Bengali hymn. They will be performing the Indian premiere of Transcendence by composer Vanraj Bhatia.
The choir dates back to over 300 years. The present choir comprises 26 choral scholars and two organ scholars, all of whom are undergraduates of Cambridge university. They study a variety of subjects ranging from engineering to philosphy.
The proceeds from the concert will go to fund the Calcutta Foundation Orchestra and towards building Ashray, the home for 250 girl children of leprosy sufferers. This project is supported by Australian cricketer Steve Waugh.
"The other receptient may be the Calcutta School of Music and a little money may also go to the cathedral who have given us their premises," Dudeja said.
The choir will perform on Saturday morning as well at the same venue and leave the city in the afternoon.