Coimbatore Chamber Chorale’s Brass Rhapsody evening

Coimbatore Chamber Chorale’s Brass Rhapsody evening

Western Classical music, though still a niche art form for many in India, has been slowly finding its place among discerning listeners. In Coimbatore, that revival has been led steadily and passionately by a group of dedicated musicians who believe deeply in the genre’s beauty and relevance.

The Coimbatore Chamber Chorale (CCC), a 50-member ensemble, founded in 2011 by Faith Ragland, its artistic director and conductor, take this ambition forward by regularly bringing Western Classical music to a wider audience, especially the younger generation.

Members of the English Brass Collective, a professional five-member ensemble from the UK. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

This season, it is an exciting collaboration with Brass Rhapsody, a concert that aims to introduce audiences to the power and versatility of brass music. The event features the English Brass Collective, a professional five-member ensemble from the UK.

The performers, Stuart Bower, James Stretton, Ken Brown, Hugh Pascal and George Hardwick, bring with them years of experience and a dynamic approach to brass performance. “It is not a regular form of music,” Faith says, describing the unique sound of a brass collective. When different brass instruments come together, the genre becomes incredibly flexible. “You can play classical, you can play jazz, you can play blues,” he explains, highlighting the wide expressive range the concert promises.

The English Brass Collective is performing in Chennai earlier in the week before arriving in Coimbatore. Because they will reach the city just a day before the concert, rehearsal time is expected to be tight.