Occupation: Freelance musician
Let me sing you a song. Which do you want? No, not ‘Careless Whispers’ or ‘Last Christmas’. I know that George Michael passed away. But did you know that it is more than 20 years since I performed a non-gospel song? I would need to find my book for the lyrics. Just two weeks ago, I decided I would perform other songs in addition to gospel music. In fact, that was when my band Second Birth was launched at Loyola auditorium.
I have been approached by many leading hotels and event managers but nothing has been finalised as of now. The seven members in my band comprises two female vocalists, three male singers and two musicians. All of us are thorough professionals with years of experience behind us. So there are plenty of people who are interested but we are still negotiating the rates.
My first performance was at the age of 12 when I played the keyboard for a programme. After that I have been regularly performing at concerts, big and small. I play the piano, drums and guitar and can also sing. My father, Wilfred Fernandez, was a Carnatic music teacher in Valiyathura Government School. I was the youngest of four siblings but I did not learn music formally from my father. Our home was full of music and I absorbed it from that atmosphere. After completing my schooling from St. Roch’s Convent and SMV High School, I studied in St. Xaviers, Thumba.
I was doing well on the music circuit but somehow, I fell into bad company and had to find my way back to a righteous life. That was when I decided to sing only gospel music.
Now, I am turning 40 and the father of four young boys between the ages of six years and six months. I don’t think I will slip down the wrong path again. That gave me the courage and faith to start my band.
It is difficult to survive if you stick to gospel music alone. Unlike Chennai and Bangalore, the city does not have many takers for gospel music. Actually, it was better a couple of decades ago. The music scene was much more diverse and alive. Fortunately, I am also working as a music teacher in Trivandrum International School for the last seven years. That helps me take care of my family.
My wife, Nisha, is a homemaker. We homeschool our children and so we are busy even on holidays. Life is not easy for a person with a large family but I firmly feel that children are blessings of god.
Now that I have a band, I am hoping to branch out into composition and performing for all kinds of functions. Friends in the field of music have also appreciated my music. Let’s see where it leads to.
Some of my students come here to my house at Sabari Nagar in Chempazhanthi to learn music. Since it is so far away from the city, only those students who are keen on learning Western music will come all the way here. I have my own methods of teaching and since I am a performer, I teach them how to perform and become a musician and not just pass examinations. I am the band instructor in many schools and colleges in the city.
Every year on December 24, I have a programme of gospel music and Christmas carols at St. Therese of Lisieux Church at Vellayamabalam, which has become a sort of a tradition. It is open to all. My latest work is a Christmas album, ‘O Night Divine’.
If you sing, I can strum the guitar for you...Well, if you don’t want to, let me sing for you a number of Elton John’s, ‘The way you look tonight’. Here it goes ‘There was a time I was everything and nothing all in one...’
Contact: 9847310923.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
