At The Hindu’s Made of Chennai photo exhibition, the Madras MBS Choir takes the stage

On Saturday, the Madras MBS Choir, the oldest surviving Indian choral music group in the country, took their places in two neat rows, in an unlikely location. Their stage for the evening was The Hindu’s Made Of Chennai archival photo exhibition titled ‘Madras On Stage’; a setting that featured a slice of their history as well, amongst many other photographs exploring the story of the city’s culture through its performances and public spaces. 

As members excitedly pointed to a photo of the choir at the exhibition, clicked in December 2008 during a performance in Chennai, Gayathree Krishna, secretary said that at least seven members of the choir from that photo were there to perform at the exhibition. 

The first Studio photo of our Choir with MB Srinivasan, during November 1974
| Photo Credit:
Madras MBS Choir archives

The choir was thrilled when they found out that their photograph was a part of the exhibition and Thirupurasundari Sevvel, founder, Nam Veedu Nam Oor Nam Kadhai who curated the exhibition, facilitated their performance there. 

“Formerly known as the Madras Youth Choir, the Madras MBS Choir was founded in1971 by composer MB Srinivasan, who was a pioneer of Indian choral music. He infused elements of western harmony into Indian choral music. Over the years, web have grown as a movement, to take Indian choral music to a wider audience,” Gayathree said. 

Having been a part of the choir for 25 years now, Gayathree said that their repertoire draws from a range of Indian compositions that look beyond film music and religious compositions; songs about the environment, patriotism, social values and more are sung across languages. 

With 45 members at present, many of their songs are arranged in a six-part harmony, with the ladies in alto, soprano 1 and soprano 2, and the men as bass, mid tenor and high tenor. 

The choir, pictured here with filmmaker Satyajit Ray
| Photo Credit:
Madras MBS Choir archives

At the exhibition, the children’s wing of the choir sang two songs, followed by the Madras MBS Choir, which sang two songs as well. 

Of the current strength of over 40 members, some, like D Ramachandran, have been with the choir since its inception in 1971. “My love for music is what drew me to joining the choir. This is also a very unique genre, and singing with a group has not just given me energy, but also built my confidence over the years,” he said. 

The members, ranging from teachers to writers and corporate professionals come together every Sunday for practice sessions and meetings. “Singing has helped us form bonds, and this has been therapeutic,” said S Janaki, who joined the choir a year ago. 

Welcoming people of all ages to join, the choir is especially keen to see more youngsters come on board, united by a shared love of music and performance. 

The Hindu’s Made Of Chennai archival photo exhibition, ‘Madras On Stage’, features a collection of rare photos from the newspaper’s archives, which seeks to document the city through its performing arts, public stages and more. The photos traverse a spectrum of stages; a rare photo documents Russian actor G.M. Pechnikov doing a role of Lord Rama in a stage production of Ramayana in 1982, and the more recent photos feature several stars from the Tamil film industry coming together for protests and solidarity walks for a range of social issues.

September 15 is the last day to view The Hindu’s Made Of Chennai Archival Photo Exhibition, Madras On Stage. For more details, log onto https://madeofchennai.thehindu.com/