13 October,2026 09:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish Kamble
The Stop-Gaps senior choral ensemble with the soloists in the final act of the Broadway musical, Chicago. PICS COURTESY/THE STOP GAPS CHORAL ENSEMBLE
Night owls in the city are just about starting to feel a pleasant nip in the air when the city sleeps, and that's a reminder for the 1972-established Stop-Gaps Cultural Academy that the festive season is around the corner. This year, the 43rd edition of the Festival of Festive Music is looking southwards for a change. "The air in Goa is buzzing during Christmastime. There is something to do every weekend in Panjim and Margao. We're spoilt for choice," admits Giselle Pereira of Stop-Gaps, a resident of the sunshine state.
The presentation in December will mark another milestone for the academy - a decade since their first performance in Goa in 2016 where young choristers performed the 16 Ave Marias in different churches, including the historic Basilica of Bom Jesus. We learn that it was another concert in the state in February this year that inspired director Alfred D'Souza to bring the big festive showcase to Goa.
Local choirs in Margao will be in great company, thanks to choristers from Mumbai and Chennai joining the grand harmony. A tad nostalgic, D'Souza will admit. The choir ensemble traces its root to Chennai's Chinnamalai, where it was established to raise funds to alleviate the sufferings of the communities who lived on the banks of the overflowing Adyar River.
The times are a-changin' and the 54-year-old choir knows it well. The festive tunes will be followed by dance-y Broadway renditions in Mapusa. On The Beautiful Big Musical Path will draw inspiration from the likes of Cats, Matilda, and Oklahoma, featuring The Stop-Gaps Choral Ensemble, the Stop-Gaps Gaps Junior Choral Ensemble and leading soloists from the Mumbai stage and theatre such as Sharon Prabhakar, Asif Ali Beg, Delna Mody and Marie Paul.
"The young choristers are pumped to experience Christmastime in Goa. Many of them have their exams lined up in Mumbai as soon as they return to the city," Pereira chuckles.
Mumbai's audiophiles need not fret. We are told that the city is still on the radar. "Same time, same place?" we ask. Not quite. For the first time, the performance plans to move out of the Nariman Point venue of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, into the St Andrews Auditorium in Bandra West. With tickets for the multi-city celebrations out as soon as October 15, we're already rehearsing our sing-alongs.
Goa
ON December 5 (Margao); December 6 (Mapusa)
AT Ravindra Bhavan, Margao; The Ark Auditorium, Mapusa.
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Mumbai
ON December 19 and 20 AT St Andrews Auditorium, Bandra West.
LOG ON TO @thestopgaps for details
