Resurrection Parish church concert

Namrata Iyengar

Dispel any pre-conceived notions you may have had on choirs and gospel music. The ‘Wake Up! concert by the youth of the Ressurection Parish went all out breaking conventions and even had non-believers snapping their fingers and bobbing their heads in time.

Organised to create awareness about rural illiteracy under the leadership of its new priest Fr Joseph Francis, Wake Up! reached out to more than 500 people in the parish to donate to Asha - a project run by the Archdiocese of Bangalore concentrating on educating underprivileged children.

Nitin D’Souza, the co-ordinator of the show, said: “Wake Up! is a platform created to attack problems in the society. It was created with the aim of awakening hidden talent in today’s youth and channelising their energy for a cause. This opportunity was grabbed by the brilliant minds at the Ressurection Parish.”



The ‘brilliant minds’ that Nitin speaks of are Ashim D’Silva and Samuel Francis, who developed the main theme. Working with Reema Menezes, Amith Mathew, Roskin Mascarenhas and Judy Das, the duo brought many unconventional and captivating performances to the stage.

The 500-odd audience were treated to an eclectic mix of gospel music. The 6-member acapella team from St Peter’s Church blended with their songs a Goan feel and even some off-beat rap. In contrast, the monolith 25-member pallotine choir stood sharp in their red and black ensemble, delivering powerfully and evocatively.

St Francis’ choir led the audience to a prayerful mood with their traditional stylings. The highlight of the event was the high pulse Gospel rock delivered to a stunned audience by the hosts - Ressurection Parish choir.

Ezlyn and team performed gospel dance, a performance that came as a pleasant surprise. Also present were the beneficiaries from ASHA, who gave their rendition of the 10 virgins from the Bible.

In all, the Wake Up! concert managed to gather over a lakh rupees in donations, which was handed over to Asha by the Archbishop Most Rev Bernard Moras. Asha already educates 1,200 rural underprivileged children and aims to get at least 5000 more children into school. With the benefits from the concert, this aim seems a step closer.

Current Mood: bouncy