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Firdause Wadia on leading Mumbai’s Paranjoti Academy Chorus, music and future
Updated On: 03 February, 2024 08:15 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram Iyengar
With a performance to close the Monte Music Festival in Goa on Sunday, the city’s Paranjoti Academy Chorus moves into its post-Coomi Wadia era. We speak to Firdause Wadia who steps into the legend’s big shoes about the choir, music and the journey ahead
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Ms Wadia (left) conducts the choir with Firdause Wadia (third row, sixth from right). Pic Courtesy/Facebook
The music room of the Sir JJ Fort Boys’ and Girls’ High School in Fort echoes with vocal exercises as we walk in. Members of the Paranjoti Academy Chorus are spread across in a semi-circle as they read through sheet music at a weekend rehearsal. At the centre is their new conductor, Firdause Wadia, directing them through the loops. Wadia took over from someone who was inseparable from the city choir’s identity, Coomi Wadia, in 2023. After his debut with the Christmas concerts in the city under his baton, Firdause is now preparing to take the choir to Goa.
As we watch, the conductor directs the a capella choir through the motions of a piece about the battle of Jericho. It might be the weekend, but there is no casualness to the rehearsal. “This is our two-week-break between the Christmas concerts and the upcoming Monte Festival,” he shares. The festival marks the return of the choir to Goa after a span of 13 years. They will take stage on Sunday at St John The Baptist Church in Benaulim to perform 22 pieces in eight different languages. “That’s why this is a marathon rehearsal — from 1.30 pm to 7 pm. Usually, we keep it short to three or four hours,” the conductor explains. The Goa performance will be followed by a concert at the rededication of the Afghan Church, Mumbai — a regular venue — in March. The choir ranges from the age groups of 20 to 70-year-olds and diverse professions including doctors, lawyers and homemakers.
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