Medha Nandi of St. Xavier’s College brought Adele and Lady Gaga alive on stage. Pictures: Anindya Shankar Ray

For three hours on Saturday afternoon, the St. Xavier’s College auditorium came alive with the sound of music as St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, Fine Arts Society presented a western music concert. “The city had not seen a proper concert for quite some time and the idea was to revive it,” declared the Fine Arts Society.

St. Xavier’s opened its doors to other city colleges as well, with Loreto College, Heritage Institute of Technology and Presidency University participating. The variety of music made by the students on March 2 ranged from Adele and Lady Antebellum to David Guetta, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd....

The afternoon kicked off with Xaverians Deya Bhattacharya (on vocals) and Arkapratim Roy (on the guitar) singing David Guetta’s Titanium. Loreto College looked past technical glitches and delivered a soulful version of John Lennon’s Imagine. Xaverian Medha Nandi, who took the stage amidst loud cheers and hoots, sang Adele’s Rumour Has It and Lady Gaga’s You and I. Her confidence and strong voice had the audience asking for more.

Xaverians Deya Bhattacharya on vocals and Arkapratim Roy on the guitar opened the concert with David Guetta’s Titanium

Argho Sangma’s instrumental Columbian piece El Nuevo Dia on the guitar was as “delightful” as the programme details had promised it would be. Romona Chakravarthy’s Hallelujah was soul-stirring and beautifully presented. Heritage Institute of Technology and Presidency University came next. While Heritage Institute’s vocalist Anurag Gupta urged the audience to sing along with his rendition of The Scientist by Coldplay, Presidency University dedicated their songs She Will Be Loved (Maroon 5) and Layla (Eric Clapton) to an unknown “someone”!

Adhiraj Guha of St. Xavier’s College on the lead guitar playing Bon Jovi’s Bed Of Roses did really well but St. Xavier’s sure saved the best for the end.

The final performance of the afternoon came from Xaverians Reya Kundu (vocals), Srinath Nair (keyboard) and Rohan Roy (violin), and Agnitray Chakraborty (percussions) of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute. They performed Katie Melua’s Spider’s Web and Welsh singer Duffy’s Mercy. Their songs lifted the mood, providing a perfect ending to the musical afternoon.

Rohan Ray on the violin was a part of the final performance

“The concert was about budding talent and the amazing turnout shows the love and support we have for upcoming artistes. I hope this concert acts as a stepping stone for all those who performed this evening,” said Siddharth Daniel Rao, secretary of St. Xavier’s Fine Arts Society.

Shrestha Saha