Attend the annual musical concert of The Stop Gaps at NCPA, Mumbai

A moment from the festival in 2022

The month begins right in the middle of intense rehearsals for The Stop Gaps choral group. Although they will take the stage at National Centre of the Performing Arts (NCPA) later in August for an annual concert, ticket sales, costumes and set preparation are in full swing. This year's show titled Collector's Items is a one-night-only production of gems that the choir has collected over the years, says founder and conductor Alfred J D'Souza. It will feature a treasure-box mix of gospel and Broadway numbers, a fitting theme of effulgence and entertainment as part of the ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations of the choir's founding. Show night will also be D'Souza's 71st birthday, which has been drawing excitement from the group.

"Since our repertoire ranges from religious songs to pop and jazz, we have picked pieces covering 100 years of gospel and Broadway music to set up a combination of music that is classical but also catchy," D'Souza tells us. The list includes songs from the musicals Hello Dolly!, Rent, My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins.

Premila Coutinho

How are the rehearsals going, we ask. D'Souza takes on an urgent tone, "Hectic! We meet four times a week and rehearse for five hours every Sunday. We are planning costume fittings and movement for the singers, which we are [choreographing]." While the senior choral ensemble takes stage for most of the songs, the concert will be interspersed with two numbers from the children's choir of six to 16-year-olds, and solo performances from names including Ella Atai, Shahriyar Atai, and Marie Paul. Children's choir conductor Premila Coutinho adds, "It's exciting to have the children on stage; they have some challenging pieces yet they make it look so easy."

New soloists who will join the celebration are Delna Mody, Vivienne Pocha, and Thomson Andrews. Actor and singer Asif Ali Beg, who returns to the concert, will take on Chicago's Razzle dazzle, which he will perform on stage for the first time, and Lost among the stars. He shares, "The first song is about the ‘razzle and dazzle' of musical theatre; while my selection for the gospel song is quieter and reflective." Singer Marianne D'Cruz Aiman will perform Andrae Crouch's To God be the glory as a song of thanksgiving. Recovering her voice after a period of illness, Aiman shares, "I want to present [my singing] back to God."

Asif Ali Beg; Alfred D'Souza

With a mix of ‘glory' from the gospel pieces and ‘story' from the Broadway numbers, Aiman is confident that the performances will reverberate within the halls of the NCPA and share the journey of joy, faith and fun.

On August 27; 6.30 pm
At Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
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Cost Rs 500 onwards