This children’s choir is breaking boundaries with music

Srinivas Krishnan, the founder and artistic director of LEAP, shares with us about the choir’s formation and its artistic process. LEAP is an acronym for Leadership Engagement through Artistic Performances. The foundation was initiated three years ago by seven like-minded individuals, including Deborah Thiagarajan, the founder of DakshinaChitra.

“After returning from the US where I worked for 30 years, I wanted to do something creative and thoughtful for children in the city. My intention was to give a deeper understanding of various cultures and cultivate leadership qualities. Any creative medium, be it art, music or theatre, allows an inner journey and a huge transformation,” he says sitting on the Bala Vidya Mandir school campus. Leap Boundary Breakers has students from Class 4 to 10.

Srinivas introduced world music to children and brought in talented musicians from various parts of the country to teach them. 

“Children should be knowledgeable about various music and cultures. So, as they grow, it will be easier for them to imbibe various cultures. 

Moreover, training and performing together would help them build soft skills,” he says.

Initially, parents of the choir members were skeptical about the concept. “With an Indian mentality, most parents were hesitant to welcome my idea. I told them the need for making a child feel successful. And when they realised my mission, they were more than happy to send the kids for the classes. The children are fantastic and I have a huge faith in them,” he sighs.

 One of the students, Raksha Prasad, has been part of the choir from the early stages. When asked about her experience, the Class 10 student says, “When we work with a large group, we learn to adjust and adapt to new things. I have travelled to various places for concerts with other students who are younger to me. All these are learning experiences. I’ve become more open-minded and non-judgmental.”

The children sing songs in Marathi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marwari, etc. “We wanted to break boundaries and introduce children to new concepts and cultures. When you develop a proficiency in a language, that multicultural mind allows you to go and mingle with any cultures — there will not be any boundaries in your mind.”

Presently, the students are gearing up for two major performances in the city — founder’s day celebrations at Theosophical Society and an event at Stella Maris College.