In a room filled with children and youngsters aged 8 to 18 years, Claire Hughes from the United
Kingdom is giving them notes to practise their vocals. Experiencing nervousness
coupled with excitement, the children are getting more comfortable to her piano
keys. The Choral Director of Child’s Play Foundation in Goa, Claire is
searching for young voices to form the Child’s Play chorus, a choir for
children and young people in the age of 7 to 18 years.
Claire has always been interested in music
and has been singing for as long as she can remember. She started out by being
part of school musical theatres and choirs. “I did my bachelor degree in music
in Birmingham, UK and I got into conducting and teaching there, working with
getting other people to sing well. I did my masters in choral conducting at
Westminster Choir College in Princeton, USA and now I have come here to Goa,”
says Claire, who is on her first trip to Asia. “I didn’t know what to expect. I
am keeping an open mind and I am very happy,” she adds.
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Child’s Play is a music charity founded
eight years ago by Dr Luis Dias to work with children across society. “We are
focusing on the disadvantaged sector but we want the benefits to go to all of
society. When we began, the focus was on instruments but we never forgot the
choir. A choir needs more time to come together; now that Claire Hughes is
here, she has already started working with the kids in Hamara School, Panjim
and in Caranzalem but we also want to spread the benefits wide. The idea is to
create a children’s choir with children from all backgrounds and all income
levels, including the Child’s Play children,” says Dr Luis Dias.
Claire divided the children and youngsters into two groups – 7
to 11 years and 12 to 18 years. “We want to have a youth choir, a young choir.
In Goa, there is a lot of singing activity happening but that is among the
adolescents and adults and it is a wonderful idea of Claire to work with
children of a younger age. I am already hearing some very exceptional voices.
By the time the parents realise that the child has got interest, the aptitude
and the god given potential, it is usually very late, with the child on the
verge of committing to law, medicine or something academic. But music can also
be a thing they are born for and this is a great way of realising this early,”
explains Dr Luis.
He further adds, “We want to give world class training for
children. All of us are born with the voice but how to fine tune that voice,
how to project that voice are skills that we need to learn. Claire has an
extensive background of teaching singing in choirs and individually, in the UK
and the USA, and we are quite lucky to have her with us.”
Claire is confident in the children as she gets a first glimpse
of their vocal range at the auditions. “There is a mix of children. A lot of
them are not trained in singing and there are lovely voices, few have sung in
choirs and some have no experience at all. Some of the children are quite shy
and scared to take a risk and I am trying to bring it out in them. I am looking
for a kind spirit that they all seem to have and if they are a bit rough around
the edges, or holding back, that’s fine as long as there is something to work
with, I am very happy. It is about the community and bringing all these kids
together; they don’t have to be the best singers,” says Claire optimistically.
Speaking about why it is important to start singing early, she
explains, “It is an early developmental stage for them but it is a good age to
start getting involved and the earlier you learn to sing well, the more it is
going to benefit you down the line.”
Dr Luis elaborates on how being a part of a choir goes beyond
singing” “There is a huge confidence building side effect from singing in a
choir. You are almost like an actor and you have a part in it where you have to
shed all your inhibitions. There is so much fun in singing in a choir and
having sung myself, I know it is a social activity where we are all creating
harmony. It creates a warm feeling inside, which is good for health.”
Speaking
about the future of the choral group, Dr Luis says, “We plan to have several
performances over the years. It can become a regular feature. Every year, we
have two annual concerts, the Monsoon Concert and the Christmas Concert.
Looking at logistics, we have to see whether to tag it along with the existing
concerts or have a standalone choral concert.”
