NEW DELHI: Her smile touches her eyes every time she sings. The equilibrium in her voice creates ripples of prolific sound, that emerges from the crater of innocence to light up the passion inside singer Reem Khokhar. She is a part of The Capital City Minstrels, one of Delhi’s most active choirs that has built a reputation of eminence. Not to long from now, she will be seen singing once again, along with 50 other singers, in a serious of summer concerts that commenced on May 13 at the India Habitat Centre. Up next is a recital at the India International Centre on May 25, post which they take off for the UK to perform in Edinburgh, Belfast and London from June 1-15.
The large rehearsal room reverberates with the distinctive range of sounds as we seat ourselves across from the group of singers flipping their notes to meet the pace of Lindsay Ross Boyd, their conductor. They’ve been given the cue to sing Tarekita by American pianist Reena Esmail. Standing right in the middle is Khokhar with her silken hair and a vibrant smile looking at the ceiling in an attempt to concentrate. “The concert series we’re rehearsing for is called With love, from India and brings the flavour of many regional sounds within its fold, she tells us after her rehearsal.
The Capital City Minstrels started in 1994 with eight people. Its founder, Zohra Shaw, now lives in the US. She started the choir acknowledging the lack of any Western classical groups in the city. Back then the small ensemble would perform at embassies. Today, it’s grown to 50 members with 300 concerts in India and abroad. Everybody who joins gets to perform. There are auditions in which the conductor gauges the voice quality and tonality. No previous experience in music is required. They all learn by ear, Khokhar tells us. A fee of `4,500 is charged per season, which is used to pay rent, photo copying notes, and such things.
Rehearsals are taken very seriously as different voices are written to come together in harmony. Even if one voice goes out of tune, the entire song sounds awkward. Therefore, the group meets once a week for a couple of hours, sometimes more, to practice till they are all out of breathe. The choir, that is in its 24th year, stands united by the strength of their musical virtuosity. The youngest member is 16 and the oldest is 80. Their heterogeneity comes shining through their backgrounds too, as the group is a mix of lawyers, doctors, social development practitioners, students, diplomats, expats and others.
Being in a choir humbles you, says Khokhar. “You may be a great soloist but choir is a great equaliser as you have to balance your voice with that of the others. You’re not suppose to stick out. The idea is to blend and sound like one voice even though there could be 10 voice in a part. This is quite a metaphor for life as well, wherein it’s not about standing out all the time. It’s also about matching step with your team,” she says.
The program features songs such as AR Rehman’s Jai Ho; Gustav Holtz’ Hymns from the Rig Veda; compositions by The Beatles to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their visit to India, and Freddie Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Regional music accents their vocal journey with the Bengali number Purano Shei Diner Kotha by Rabindranath Tagore influenced by Scottish music; Garo Christian music traditions blending in a South African song Thuma Mina; a Konkani festive song Aeyaya Balano Sakkad, among others. With every song rendered, a synthesis of sounds will mark its supremacy, upholding the sanctity of the choir’s unifying musical culture.