Strains of “Jingle Bells” greeted us as we made our way to the foyer at St Andrew’s auditorium in Bandra last weekend. Six pre-teen girls wearing Santa Claus caps and backed by an obliging guitarist provided much-needed cheer to a large, patient crowd that had assembled to attend the annual Diocesan Youth choir festival. It didn’t matter to them that Christmastime was in the past, or that there were no big, Bollywood-type luminaries (barring Luke Kenny who was a judge). And it certainly didn’t matter whether you came from Malad or Malabar Hill. Everyone — from septuagenarian patent-leather heeled aunties to habit-clad nuns and man-bun-sporting youth groups panning the length and breadth of the Mumbai Archdiocese were there to witness a heady choral spectacle.

Once the audience had settled in, and the hosts — two perky youngsters — were done with the introductions and salutations — the curtain raised for the real deal. The competition had eight choirs, pruned down from 15 who had battled among themselves to reach the finale in the evening. From Marol to Thane, Gorai and Mira Road, teenagers attempted interesting, often adventurous renditions of Christmas songs and carols. The rules required for each choir to select a traditional and a contemporary pick, along with an original composition. Soul, Gospel, A Capella, beat box interludes, Latin lyrics and rustic Marathi songs (we loved their stick-to-our-roots Koli community attire) were in full flow. Effort had been made to jazz up things with costumes too. Beside us, an octogenarian gent hummed along when a choir (eventual runners-up) did a mean A Capella version of “Deck the Halls”. The energy levels impressed, even if the crescendos, altos and tenors got a bit mixed up at times. Whoopi Goldberg aka Sister Mary Clarence would have given it a double thumbs up.