Those Were The Days Agostinho da Cruz via Facebook Maestro late Fr Camilo Xavier School of Music, formerly known as The Music Circle (Goa), Margao, founded in 1954, was a music institution affiliated to the Trinity College of Music and the Royal School of Music (London).
This was where we started our musical career, studying to read and write music through solfego and play instruments such as the violin, cello, piano, guitar, clarinet, vocal training etc. etc. We did so under the baton of late Rev. Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, composer, arranger and conductor, who was the founder of the music school. It also had a polyphonic choir popularly known as the Goencho Naad, which earned fame in Goa and India. It was known for its regular performances in classical music, a choir of 40 singers (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) singing in a cappella style with regular rehersals twice a week. Goencho Naad also had produced operas such as The Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, HMS Pinafore, etc. etc all of which were backed by its 40 piece orchestra and 40 singers. This school had a good team of teachers teaching violin, guitar, piano, cello, clarinet and solfego. Violin teachers: late Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, late Jacinto Rodrigues, late Martinho Dourado, late Sebastian de Veiga, Agnelo Carvalho, Alvaro Pereira. Piano: Terezinha Gonsalves, Maria Xavier Carvalho, late Iona Dias, Manuela Xavier Andrade, Mona Rebelo, late Thelma da Silva, Lourdes Fernandes. Cello: Álvaro De Assunção Pereira. Solfego: late Fr. Camilo Xavier, Miguel Cotta, Maurelio Cotta, Lisette Cotta. Guitar: Late Jacinto Rodrigues, Agostinho da Cruz, Alvaro Pereira, Celso Soares. Clarinet: late Martinho Dourado. When I yesterday passed by the Old Market, and had a glance, I was sad to see our music school in shambles. This was the very same place where once upon a time the sounds of musical instruments were buzzing at the Old Market area right from 2 pm to 7 pm. Twice a week there would be the reverberating sounds of voices from the Goencho Naad. Today the sounds of instruments and voices are silenced. Hundreds of students completed their diploma and graduated in courses of music, which enabled them to become professional musicians. Actually, the Kala Academy could have taken over and conducted regular classes at par, I had suggested in those days to hand over the institution to Kala Academy after the death of Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, but nothing came of it. Instead, the curtains came down. Very sad state of our School of Music, Margao. ### https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=5718373074854271&set=a.1071076376250654 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Join a discussion on Goa-related issues by posting your comments on this or other issues via email to goa...@goanet.org See archives at http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-