Breaking from the traditional boundaries of choir music, the Shillong Chamber Orchestra (SCO), a young group of choir musicians from Shillong, Meghalaya, are in the city to perform the world’s first personalised concert at the Shanmukhananda Hall on April 7.
It is a concert, which sticks to the orchestra basics of classic compositions from greats like Mozart, but doesn’t forget the old and new Bollywood songs that still rule the country’s musical hearts. And while doing so, it makes sure the audience has a say in what they want to listen to. To achieve this balance, SCO uses social networking websites like Facebook to let the audiences decide on what they want to hear, and this is what Neil Nongkynrih, founder of SCO, believes marks the beginning of a new chapter in Indian music.
Nongkynrih sees music as the food and musicians as the chefs who must offer a variety on the table otherwise any performance becomes boring. And as the musical chef, he says that he has a very well thought of menu for the audiences in Mumbai. “It’s very young and upbeat and there’s a lot of humour in it too,” he says, adding, “We have a very carefully composed jugalbandi of tabla and piano (an unorthodox combination for a choir concert) with vocals that speak about the experience of a train journey in India.” Nongkynrih says that the group got some interesting requests from fans on Facebook. “A lot of fans have requested us to play songs like Kal Ho Na Ho and old Hindi classics like Kabhi Aar Kabhi Par. The bottom line is that people don’t want the same old classics to be retold again and again,” he said.
Having said that, though fun is always the ruling element in SCO’s concerts, the group hasn’t forgotten the classical elements of choir music. That’s why their performance line-up also includes three compositions from Mozart and an opera written by Nongkynrih himself. And then there will be some renditions of Fredie Mercury, Queen’s lead vocalist and songwriter. “What we are trying to do here is present a crossover performance between Zubin Mehta and Lata Mangeshkar and in between there’ll be Freddie Mercury too,” says Nongkynrih.
The Shillong-based group is one of the few musical groups that rules the music scene in North-East India and at the same time has proven itself outside of the geographical boundaries of the region. SCO started as a small group of 12 musicians, who wanted to make choir music fun, and so far with just 19 members (three from Nagaland and 16 from Shillong), it has managed to achieve success, thanks to its non-traditional approach to choir music.
Despite all that popularity and fame, however, SCO remains a simple group of talented musicians. Nongkynrih’s satisfaction though comes from the feeling that maybe their achievement would give hope to other musicians in the North-Eastern region. “There has been a lot of hopelessness in this region for a long time. What they need is a ray of hope that if you are willing to work hard, success will come to your away,” says Nongkynrih, adding, “There’s a lot of untapped musical talent in this region, which is getting lost to drugs and violence. ”
As for the concert in Mumbai, Nongkynrih says there’s a greater need for original music and compositions, another reason why the group always attempts to break away from the traditional barriers and give the audience something new. “Some people have called our music non-traditional, and non-orchestra, but I couldn’t care less. If they want to remain in the 300-year-old world of choir music, it’s their choice. There is a need to develop the concept of choir music in accordance with the present understanding and preference of people. Our music has no boundary and no limitation. Our music is for a guy who walks around wearing leather jacket in long hair as well as a formal principal of a school. At the end of the day, it’s people’s music,” he concludes.
The SOC performs on April 7 at Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion.