Little Choir Opens Xmas Season

Hyderabad: Described as Hyderabad’s largest junior choir, a group of 50 children from Little Rock kicked off the Christmas season with a ‘Love Came Down’ concert on Sunday night. Families and young people filled the venue long before it began, turning the evening into a celebration of song, scripture and youthful exuberance.

The first half featured songs such as ‘John 1’, ‘Noel’, ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’, ‘Gloria’ and ‘Born on Christmas’. The mentor-led piece, ‘Because of Bethlehem’, offered a quiet interlude before the second half, featuring choreography, expressive skits and interactive games.

Other songs included ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’, ‘Mary Did You Know’, the British medley ‘What Child Is This’ and finally ‘Joyful Joyful’ which had the audience on its feet especially during the moments when the children rapped with confidence.

Many artists talked about what the choir meant to them beyond the concert. Jason Ishant, an 11-year-old soprano singer from Hope UC Church, said they had been practicing for months and “it felt like Christmas came earlier this year because every rehearsal felt like a celebration.”

Fourteen-year-old tenor Isaac Ethan said he enjoyed the practice sessions as much as the performance. “The connection, the learning, the conversations about Christ and life and everything in between stays with you,” he said.

Sopranos Joshua Samson Paul, 12, and Allu Nathan, 14, said performing solo occasionally gave them confidence despite their age. Soprano Avelin Grace, 11, who also sings at Neil Methodist Church, said she feels comfortable among her peers. He said he is “not the odd one out here because everyone is my age and we learn at the same pace and connect relationally.”

Among the most requested pieces is ‘Which Child Is This?’, in which the soprano line carries multiple parts on her own. There was. The audience responded warmly to the sensitivity of the chorus and applauded the children as they mastered the transitions.

The night’s conductor, Abigail Akansha Ebenezer, 20, a longtime church and university choir director, said she took on the responsibility of leading the young singers. “It’s a huge responsibility because unlike singing, where you can hide behind a team, the performance of an entire choir falls on my shoulders,” he said. He noted that working with children is “different” because they both “bring and take so much energy” before returning to direct the next piece.

One choir member described the choir as a space where one learns not only about music but also about life, Jesus, discipline and perspective. “You can ask questions about your doubts without worrying about being judged,” he said, describing a sentiment he said was shared by many people.

Ebenezer Devaraj, director of India Youth for Christ Hyderabad, thanked the parents for their sacrifice and appreciated the early morning, late evening and holiday work spent in preparing the choir. Samson Gandhi, managing director of Person to Person Counselling, grounded the evening’s music with a deeper message, speaking of hope in Christ “amidst all the noise that Christmas tends to create.”

The standing ovation as ‘Joyful Joyful’ closed the night was less like the applause given to a performance and more like a warm welcome brought to Advent in Hyderabad by the voices of the youngest singers.