Cherry Hill resident Kieran Goh was one of about 55 boys in the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Choral who traveled to India last month for the group’s annual international trip.
Along with the 11-year-old, South Jersey participants included 12-year-old Henry Gralish of Haddonfield; father and son and township residents Judd and Jonah Serotta; and boys from Merchantville, Mount Laurel, Genaro Medina from Voorhees, Shawn Luna from Sicklerville, Liam Newkirk and Nolan Youssef from Moorestown, Jack Stasko from Cinnaminson, and Josiah West from Pine Hill.
This year marked the first time in its 56 seasons that the choir traveled to India. Jeffrey R. Smith, artistic director and conductor for the group, has been with the organization for 20 years and always wanted to see the country.
“The time was never right, but finally it happened this year,” he said.
The choir saw sites in India like the Taj Mahal and performed in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
The choir performed in the Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai; at the Habitat Center in the Stein Auditorium with the New Delhi Children’s Chorus; the Mumba Royal Opera house, the last standing opera house in all of India; St. John’s Church in Bangalore, where their repertoire consisted of sacred songs; and the Government Museum Theater in Chennai.
Though the boys primarily stayed in hotels, in the last city they visited, about two thirds of them had one-night stays with local families to learn the country’s culture.
“I think the most rewarding part for everybody involved is cultural exchanges,” noted Amanda Schkeeper, Director of Advancement for the choir. “We got to know a couple of children’s choirs in each of the cities, and went into a school twice and performed for each other.”
The choir learned 17 songs for the trip, with the repertoire slightly changed in each city. They performed sacred songs, patriotic tunes like “America the Beautiful,” show tunes such as “Circle of Life” from “The Lion King”; and classical music, including conductor Leonard Bernstein’s choral work, “Missa Brevis.”
The choir also had learned songs in Hindi and Bengali. To prepare for the trip, they listened to recorded tracks of music that were translated to the international phonetic alphabet so they could hear the songs’ sounds.
“It was really neat to see the kids interacting with maybe someone who doesn’t speak the same language,” Schkeeper related, “but the minute everyone start singing, it was like, ‘Oh I know that song. Oh, you know that song, too.’
“We learned this just for India, so they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re singing in Hindi!’”
Kieran joined the choir a year ago and described the India trip as a great experience. Initially intimidated about trying out because of the choir’s high standards, he said the group has lived up to expectations and even exceeded them.
“It’s just been such an amazing experience, because I’ve been able to connect with other people who are like me,” Kieran explained. “I know I felt this way, that there are not going to be many other boys that enjoy singing as much as I do. So I really connect with the people there and I think that’s great.”
The Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choirs is always looking for new members. They meet twice a week to rehearse, and boys from 7 to 12 years old are encouraged to audition. To learn more, visit https://www.phillyboyschoir.org/.
