For the entirety of February Michael Mofidian and I will not be shaving in aid of the valuable work that we, as part of Jesus Choir, will be doing with Songbound in Mumbai in March.  Please dig deep and donate now to support the terrifying prospect of us turning into gorillas in aid of this amazing charity. Merely £400 guarantees the running of one slum choir in Mumbai for a year.

In March 2013, the Jesus Choir will take part in an exciting and pioneering project, helping to bring the joy of music to children in the slums of the Indian city of Mumbai in cooperation with Songbound, a music outreach initiative established by Cambridge graduate Joseph Walters in 2011. In what is a first for a Cambridge choir, the ten-day project will be used primarily as a way of reaching out to disadvantaged communities in Mumbai and providing otherwise inaccessible life-changing opportunities. Joseph Walters’ powerful, entertaining and moving film about musical projects in the slums of Mumbai, The Sound of Mumbai, was shown last year on Channel 4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmuKT5Mtjg

The College is seeking donations to cover the costs of travel and accommodation, but the Choir wishes to raise £10,000 for the continuing work of Songbound, ensuring that this exciting project will have a legacy for the children of the Mumbai slums long after we have returned to Cambridge.

Joseph Walters and Mark Williams (Director of Music at Jesus College Cambridge), who were contemporaries as students at Cambridge University, believe that collaboration between their two groups could be not only inspirational and exciting but also life-changing for both the Cambridge students and for the Mumbai children participating in the project. Both share reservations about foreign musicians visiting India only to perform to the social elite who can afford tickets to classical music concerts. Furthermore, this concern cannot simply be ameliorated by paying a one-off visit to a slum community to show off the quality of European music-making to those who are too poor to have music lessons, however inspiring this may be for half a day.

It is hoped that this project will encourage a cultural dialogue that can be developed into the future through maintained links between Jesus College and the Indian Songbound choirs. The ultimate hope is that some of the children from the Songbound project choirs might visit the UK and take part in joint concerts with Jesus College Choir.

The ethos of Songbound is to ensure continuity of opportunity for all its young participants. Whilst this week-long project will provide the children’s choirs with exciting and uplifting experiences, Songbound can help partners to develop the collaborative process into a unique relationship that will lead to further exciting shared experiences in India and the UK.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.

www.jesuscollegechoir.com