Hyderabad Voices Christmas Concert: City comes alive with choral music

Hyderabad: On a cold December evening, Ravindra Bharathi filled steadily as families, students, and longtime patrons of the city’s arts gathered for the Hyderabad Voices Christmas Concert 2025.

What unfolded was not a seasonal recital alone, but a reflection of how choral music is quietly finding its place in Hyderabad’s contemporary cultural life.

The concert brought together the Hyderabad Voices choir and its Junior Chorus, marking one of the group’s largest public performances since its formation.

A community choir finds its stage

Founded as a secular, community-led ensemble, Hyderabad Voices has grown around a simple idea: that choral music need not belong to a single tradition or institution.

Speaking after the performance, Ashrita D’Souza, co-founder and conductor, described the evening as a milestone. “Ravindra Bharathi is a space many of us grew up watching performances in. Bringing our singers here, children and adults together, felt like arriving at a shared point in our journey.”

The choir’s strength lies in its range: trained singers stand alongside first-time performers, bound by structured rehearsals and collective discipline rather than individual prominence.

Opening with the junior chorus

The concert opened with the Hyderabad Voices Junior Chorus, whose presence set the tone for the evening. Their repertoire moved gently between traditional and contemporary Christmas music, beginning with “Go Light Your World” and “When Christmas Comes to Town,” performed by a trio of young voices.

Pieces such as “O Tannenbaum,” “Let It Be Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland” followed, with piano accompaniment by Avaneesh, guitar by Collen, and rhythmic support from Tejas on drums. The inclusion of “The Drummer Boy,” led by a children’s trio, drew sustained applause.

A parent in the audience remarked quietly, “You don’t often hear children sing with this level of focus. It felt honest.”

The full choir takes over

The transition to the full Hyderabad Voices ensemble was marked by “Alleluia” and “A New Noel,” establishing a fuller sound anchored by layered harmonies. The choir moved fluidly through well-known pieces such as “White Christmas,” “When You Believe,” and “Where Are You Christmas?”, balancing familiarity with restraint.

Several performances stood out for their simplicity rather than scale:

– A solo rendition of “So This Is Christmas”

– A duet during “Christmas Together”

– An a cappella segment that briefly stilled the hall

Instrumental support varied across the set, with piano, guitar, violin, and percussion weaving in and out rather than dominating. Emmanuel’s violin passages and George’s saxophone during later numbers added texture without shifting focus from the choir.

Songs beyond the season

As the concert progressed, the repertoire widened beyond Christmas alone. “Seasons of Love,” “Siyahamba,” and “I Will Follow Him” introduced themes of time, faith, and movement, reframed through choral arrangement.

The closing stretch included “All I Want for Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” and “A Holiday Road of Carols,” bringing the evening back to celebration without excess.

What the evening represented

What made the Ravindra Bharathi concert notable was not scale or novelty, but intent. The audience remained engaged throughout a long programme, responding not just to recognisable tunes but to quieter moments of collective singing.

For Hyderabad Voices, the evening marked a step forward, not as a finished statement, but as a continuation.

“This choir grows because people keep showing up,” Ashrita D’Souza said. “That’s really all it takes.”

As the final notes faded, there was no rush to leave. Conversations lingered in the aisles, children waited for photographs, and Ravindra Bharathi, so often associated with soloists and grand productions, held the echo of many voices singing together.