The Nashville of Bangalore Gospel Music — a partial and affectionate chronicle
Praveen Deepak ‘Deepu’ • Organist and Pianist, RTMC
RTMC has had a remarkable tradition not just of great Gospel music, but of being the birthplace of many Gospel groups and choirs over the last fifty years.
It almost seems that the church could be called the Nashville of Bangalore Gospel music.
The hand of God has woven through all of it — through the births of choirs, groups, musicals, and musicians whose work has far outlasted the church services that first gave them a stage.
Special Gospel music still adorns every service at RTMC, just as it has since the 1970s. New God-endowed musical talent keeps cropping up in each successive generation.
What follows is my attempt to list as many musical beginnings at RTMC as I can remember. Apologies in advance to any artists, groups, or choirs I forget to mention — it isn’t intentional, just a matter of short memory and the odd gap in my attendance.
CHOIRS ORIGINATING FROM RTMC
♫ Richmond Town Methodist Church Choir
♫ RTMC Evening Choir — many incarnations, 1991–2001
♫ Praise Singers
♫ Glorious — inspired from RTMC; independent since 1989
SINGING GROUPS ORIGINATING FROM RTMC
♫ The Revelations — mid-1980s
♫ Chord of Faith — mid-2000s
♫ Crossroads — 2010s, with Koramangala Methodist Church
MUSICALS ORIGINATING FROM RTMC
♫ Alternativity — Youth Musical, mid-1980s, directed by Anita Lean
♫ Greater Than Gold
♫ The Other Wise Man — Youth Musical, mid-1980s
♫ The Race Is On — debuted 1987, performed through to 1991
♫ Christmas Discombobulated — 1994, directed by Mrs. Miriam Andrews; fundraiser for a terminally ill child
♫ Kids’ Praise 4 and 5 — directed by Mr. Richard William Joseph & Mrs. Sheila Joseph
Richmond Town Methodist Church Choir
The mainstay of morning worship since the 1970s
When I first came to RTMC around 1979, this was already an accomplished choir.
Successive generations and incarnations of it have been RTMC’s music mainstay at every morning service right from the 1970s.
The choir has been led over the years by Mr. Kirkwood — before my time; Frankie would know those days better than I do — then Mr. Cornelius, Miss Jean Fritchley accompanied by Mrs. Hicks, Mr. Thomas Paul, myself, Mr. Daniel and Mrs. Christie, and at present Ms. Eunica Shirley.
Each year the choir has presented a Christmas cantata and sometimes an Easter cantata.
Traditionally a 40-member choir — though numbers have varied widely — the repertoire ranges across contemporary Christian music of each decade and some classical.
Praise Singers
The evening choir — founded in the late 1970s under Rev. Dr. Thomas Gnanamuthu
My time at RTMC begins with my involvement with the Praise Singers, always led by Rev. Dr. Thomas Gnanamuthu and accompanied by Mrs. Janet Gnanamuthu, and later by Ms. Sunita Gokavi and others.
Dr. Gnanamuthu was particularly fond of young people, and the choir was started in the late 1970s for the express purpose of giving young people direction and purpose through Christian music.
Praise Singers presented music traditionally at the evening services at RTMC.
RTMC Evening Choir
Filled the music vacuum when Praise Singers moved on — 1991 to 2001
Praise Singers moved geographically in the early 1990s towards the Cantonment area, setting up there with a new lineup.
This presented a music vacuum in the evening worship services at RTMC, ably filled by many young people who had been in Praise Singers.
This evening choir began in 1991 and ran until 2001, led in chronological sequence by Ms. Mary Kovoor, Mrs. Sumithra, and Mr. Richard William Joseph.
I accompanied the choir.
Post-2001, the tradition of special Christian music at evening services floundered — a kind of malaise that has carried on since, despite sporadic attempts to restart.
Glorious
Founded 1989 — Bangalore’s most enduring Gospel choir
Mr. Reji Chandy had his musical beginnings at Mar Thoma Church on Primrose Road, then a short stint with Praise Singers — which is where he became involved with RTMC members.
Post-Praise Singers, he directed a 1990 musical called The Passion by Adrian Snell.
Out of that foray came a 13-member independent choir that had actually debuted in 1989: Glorious.
Glorious has been a Bangalore staple ever since, presenting Christian Gospel music to successive generations of Bangaloreans.
Their 34th Festival of Harmony is among their most recent landmarks.
Mr. Reji Chandy is especially grateful to RTMC, where Glorious has ministered numerous times over three decades.
Glorious will be among the choirs performing at RTMC’s 150th year celebrations.
The Revelations
Debuted at RTMC in 1986 — lasted at least two decades
During the mid-1980s, a few RTMC youth members birthed a new musical group and called themselves The Revelations.
They performed for the first time at RTMC at an after-dinner song service in 1986 or thereabouts, and went on to last at least a couple of decades, moving on from RTMC as they grew.
Chord of Faith
Founded by Mrs. Miracle Shatananda, RTMC organist — mid-2000s
Mrs. Miracle Shatananda, church organist at RTMC for many years, founded this five-member vocal group.
The repertoire emphasised vocal blend, and most members were from RTMC.
Chord of Faith performed at the annual Christ College Christmas festival Magnificat at least twice, and at Indiranagar Methodist Church’s festival Vocalate, as well as numerous times at RTMC.
Crossroads
A joint RTMC and KMC vocal group — 2010s
Crossroads was founded by a few RTMC and Koramangala Methodist Church members in the 2010s, led by Abhishek Samuelson.
Notable performances included Glorious’ Festival of Harmony in 2014, and appearances at both home churches.
The Race Is On
Youth Musical — debuted 1987, revived repeatedly through 1991
The Race Is On remains a favourite among the RTMC youth of its day, who are now its alumni.
It debuted at an evening service in 1987, and was revived many times by succeeding youth lineups right through to 1991.
The songs seem to have changed many lives; many of us who were associated with it carry an undying legacy and a strong rallying point in those years.
Many Ongoing Codas
‘Coda’: a different ending to any song or musical piece
It seems, in retrospect, that the music which originated at RTMC was taken to new heights in environments outside the mother church — many different codas.
God never let the music die.
The roster of singers, performers, musicians, choirs, and groups that bore some connection to RTMC includes many of Bangalore’s foremost musical talents.
If I were to name them all, I’d still be forgetting half of them.
God seems to have seen to it that the music did not begin and end at RTMC, but transcended the church and went out into the community of Christian musicians across wider Bangalore.
The music… hasn’t ended. Thank you Lord!
“Sing to the Lord all the Earth; proclaim His salvation day after day.”
— 1 Chronicles 16:23
Praveen Deepak ‘Deepu’
Organist and Pianist, Richmond Town Methodist Church
