The Madras Musical Association (MMA), Chennai’s best known Western classical choir, was founded in 1893 at St Andrew’s Church in Egmore by an Italian émigré conductor known as Signor Aloysio, according to a history published in the music magazine Interlude. More than 130 years on, it still sings in the city several times a year, with a choir of over 90 voices and its own orchestra.
Its concerts are often announced only a week or two ahead, mostly through newspapers and social media, and many residents never catch one. Here is the choir’s story, the concerts it holds through the year, and how to find them.
A colonial choir that became Chennai’s own
For its first half-century the MMA was largely British and Anglo-Indian, and its concerts were held mostly at the Museum Theatre in Egmore. It admitted its first Indian member, Handel Manuel, in 1939, and he became conductor in 1945. After 1947 many British and Anglo-Indian members left, and audiences shrank.
The choir came close to folding in the 1980s amid money troubles and splits; Ravi Santosham, its president from 1990 to 2014, later said it had almost ceased to exist, Interlude records. Under conductor Dr Samuel Grubb, from 1989 to 2007, it revived. A 1991 production, Over the Rainbow, sold out three nights at the Music Academy, and the choir went on to sing at church music festivals in Coventry (1998) and Chester (2006) and in Sydney during the 2000 Olympics.
Augustine Paul, its music director since then, led it to Rome in 2009 and to the Royal Festival Hall in London during the 2012 Olympics. It won gold and silver at the Asia Pacific Choir Games in 2017 and marked its 125th year in 2018.
The MMA’s history is also a history of Western music in the city. Interlude traces choral singing in Madras back to the choir of St Mary’s Charity School in 1715 and a garrison band set up in 1779, long before the association was formed. One of its choristers, Christabelle Howie, was crowned Miss India in 1991.
The MMA today
Recent concert reports give a picture of the current set-up:
- Conductors: Augustine Paul, music director, with Ebenezer Arunkumar as associate conductor.
- Accompanist: pianist and organist Jeremiah Christopher.
- Orchestra: the MMA Symphony Orchestra, formed over a decade ago, has about 35 players, from school and college students to experienced musicians, DT Next reported in November 2024.
The concert year
The MMA does not publish a fixed calendar, but its recent seasons follow a pattern:
- Carols by Candlelight, December: the city’s best known carol evening, held on the last Saturday before Christmas and dating back to 1957. It draws more than a thousand people a year, DT Next reported.
- Spring sacred music: in April 2023 the choir sang Schubert’s Mass in G and motets at San Thome Basilica in Mylapore, which Mylapore Times described as the first such evening there.
- Mid-year church concert: in July 2025, “Anthems and Concertos” at St Andrew’s Church (the Kirk), near Egmore station, put about 90 performers on stage, with the offertory going to the church’s restoration, DT Next reported.
- Autumn concerts: “Seasons” in September 2024 and “Autumn Classics” in November 2024 at the Museum Theatre, ending with Haydn’s Te Deum.
- Chamber evenings: the MMA has also partnered on smaller concerts, such as a March 2026 Beethoven cello sonata recital at the Museum Theatre, DT Next noted.
The venues
Two heritage buildings in Egmore are the choir’s usual homes. St Andrew’s Kirk, built in 1817 by the Scottish community, has acoustics suited to unamplified voices. The Museum Theatre on the Government Museum campus on Pantheon Road is the MMA’s traditional concert hall. The museum itself, set up in 1851, is open from 9.30 am to 5 pm and closed on Fridays, the state’s Art and Culture policy note says, but evening concerts follow their own timings.
How to catch a concert or join
- Watch the city pages of DT Next and The Hindu and neighbourhood papers such as Mylapore Times from late October; December concerts are usually announced in the first two weeks of the month.
- Follow the MMA’s own social media pages for ticket links. Church concerts are sometimes free with an offertory.
- Arrive early for Carols by Candlelight. Seating fills well before the start.
- If you sing, ask the choir about auditions. It recruits by voice part, and members rehearse weekly through the year.
Quick answers
When was the Madras Musical Association founded?
In 1893, at St Andrew’s Church in Egmore.
Who conducts the MMA Choir?
Augustine Paul is music director, with Ebenezer Arunkumar as associate conductor.
When is Carols by Candlelight?
Traditionally on the last Saturday before Christmas.
Where does the MMA perform?
Most often at the Museum Theatre and St Andrew’s Kirk in Egmore, and occasionally at San Thome Basilica and other halls.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- The Madras Musical Association through the ages (Interlude)
- Carols by Candlelight: 66-yr tradition (DT Next)
- The Kirk to come alive with anthems, organ and orchestral power (DT Next)
- Autumn Classics by Madras Musical Association (DT Next)
- Chennai to host an evening of Beethoven’s cello sonatas (DT Next)
- MMA Choir performs at San Thome Basilica (Mylapore Times)
- Government Museum Chennai (Art and Culture Department Policy Note 2024-25)
