The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : All-women American band enthrals Vidyasagar

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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

All-women American band enthrals Vidyasagar

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

Tuning into music: A group of singers from the U.S. perform at Vidya Sagar on Thursday.

CHENNAI: It was a morning rich in music and laughter as fourteen women singers enthralled an audience comprising people with multiple disabilities. As a part of its 25th year celebration, Vidya Sagar, formerly known as The Spastics Society of India, an organisation that caters to persons with special needs, had Whim ‘n Rhythm', an all-female cappella singing group from the U.S. performing on Thursday.

The one-hour concert featured jazz standards, classic show tunes, contemporary favourites and traditional ballads. As the group sang ‘Row, Row, Row your boat', and specially requested songs from the movie, ‘The Sound of Music', the enchanted audience responded enthusiastically in different ways.

“We want our children to get exposed to different kinds of music. If they cannot go out, I might as well bring the music here,” said Rajol Padmanabhan, Director of Vidya Sagar.

Rating the food of the city as its best asset, the singing group looks forward to visiting places like Mahabalipuram on the weekend. “It's during these tours that we get to perform at different places, for people who cannot otherwise hire us. And this is the best way to bring about the awareness about American music,” said Gussie, a member of the group.

Talking about the need for social inclusion and a collective initiative to bring in an integrated development in special education, Rohini Ramesh, a coordinator at Vidya Sagar said: “Every disability is different in terms of its intensity. The bodies and minds of these children respond well to different kinds of music.”

Whim 'n Rhythm, founded in 1981 by seven Yale women, is one of America's premier all-female cappella groups which has achieved the world renown.

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