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“Pass it on” – A choral journey spanning half a century– Prins James Alagaratnam It was August 1967, the parish of St. Mary’s Church, Colombo had just welcomed its new assistant parish priest Fr. Claver Perera. Together with parish priest Fr. Joe de Mel, St. Mary’s had a resurgence in parish activity.  Fr. Joe’s philosophy of having an active youth community, favored Fr. Claver, who invited some of the younger choristers to listen to a collection of music he had assembled while in Rome. Those of us privileged, to listen to his dream of a youthful choral group needed no persuasion, and the St. Mary’s Choral group was born. The following narrative relates the progress of the group, and the influences that sustained choral music through the years. Good choral traditions are abundant island wide and the Colombo choral scene has been, and continues to be alive. In Early Decemebr ...