In sync for 50 years: Choral group The Stop Gaps to celebrate golden jubilee with a Christmas special show

Choral ensemble and cultural academy The Stop Gaps will be commemorating its 50th anniversary this year at its annual A Festival of Festive Music a Christmas special titled The Book of Golden Memories To celebrate this feat we met with the choir group for a look back at the past 50 years It was story time as founder and conductor Alfred J DrsquoSouza sat down with us surrounded by a few of the oldestserving members including Sister Marjorie Caldeira and her brother Lucas Caldeira who along with their two sisters were among the first few members when the choral group was founded in 1972 in Chennairsquos quiet locality of Little MountA previous performance by the group Pics CourtesyThe Stop Gaps archiveLucas who was a part of The Stop Gaps family till 1982 fondly shares memories of caroling through Little Mount as a teen bundled into a tempo to travel between vicinities and raise money for different charities every year ldquoWith hampers to distribute with us in the tempo it was quite a riderdquo he addsAn observation that Sister Caldeira shares seems to be a common notion reflected in every member of the group she says ldquoThe feeling of togetherness and camaraderie was strongrdquo And it still is 50 years later with part of the group seated around a table in St Josephrsquos Convent Bandra where rehearsals for their upcoming concert take place This writer was a fly on the wall when she dropped by The chitchat quickly transformed the session into one that was laced with gossip laughter and an overall recounting of shared memories where everyone corrected forgotten names and datesThe Stop Gaps with the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 2002In the group was Celina Lobo who sang with the choir in 1991 and then since 2016 Mehmood Curmally since 2014 Zubin Tatna who has been with The Stop Gaps for about 22 years Sudha Shenoy who was so mesmerised by the choirrsquos performance in September 2013 that she immediately joined them and was ready to perform by October 2013 and Jennifer DrsquoSouza the oldestserving member who joined in 1989Esther Fernandes the youngest memberJean Turner who has been with the group for over 25 years highlights that after 50 years till today the group sings with a purpose making it clear that some traditions when held dearly never die Back in 1972 when DrsquoSouza was a 19yearold in college he decided to raise money for those affected by floods of the Adyar River Every year since the choirrsquos main purpose has been to raise funds for orphanages and homes for the elderly through performancesIn 1984 DrsquoSouza aimed to raise money for the EnglishSpeaking Union of the Commonwealth in the city and decided to use the Bandra Zonals stage for the mission this was the year when The StopGaps Cultural Academy was formed The next year the annual festival at NCPA came about with a view to turn performances into a celebration instead of a competition From there the group has had plenty of national and international trips lsquobridging the world with songrsquo as their motto reads This includes the Festival International de Chant Choral de Nancy France in 1995 and 2002 the closing celebrations of Israelrsquos 50th anniversary of Independence in 1998 where they performed at concerts in Jerusalem Bethlehem and Nazareth and the third fourth and seventh Choir Olympics held in Germany and China when they brought home many silver and bronze medalsSister Marjorie and Lucas Caldeira who were among the first members in 1972One trip took the group to the Vatican to sing before the late Pope John Paul II in 2002 Here they performed religious songs and sang an early birthday wish for the Pope before moving on to Konkani and Hindi hits ldquoWe sang Chura liya for the Poperdquo DrsquoSouza recalls with a smile Thatrsquos another thing about The Stop Gaps itrsquos a multigenre choral ensemble singing not just religious songs but also show tunes Bollywood Broadway electronic jazz pop and other genresAlfred J DrsquoSouzaldquoAsk Alfie about the name of the group toordquo a group member chimes in which prompts DrsquoSouza to detail another snippet from history for us ldquoThe choir brought people together from every community religion and age group It puts a stop to many gaps in that senserdquohe revealsWhen we ask this multigenerational and multireligious family about their experience of being in The Stop Gaps whether over 30 years or three years we get as endearing responses as lsquothe choir made me who I am todayrsquo gaining confidence learning the art of singing making friends at the age of 50 and collecting memories and laughter The youngest member 17yearold Esther Fernandes who joined in June this year shares ldquoI can sum my experience in one line wersquore a familyrdquoAs we continue speaking to a few members rehearsals have commenced in the next room With voices raising and cascading in unison wersquore privy to a magical snippet of whatrsquos to come in December at A Festival of Festive Music which will also include choir groups from across IndiaON December 10 7 pmDecember 11 630 pmAT Tata Theatre NCPA Nariman PointLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcom ticket sales begin on November 12