Most people, says B. Jonath Backia Seelan, often refer to him as a ‘keyboard player’. It’s the easiest, if not the most accurate, description they can think of, for someone who has given up a high-flying career in insurance and online education, to become a teacher and conductor of classical Western music.
Mr. Backia Seelan, who is a trained pianist and organist, is the conductor of the 56-member choral group Singspirations and the director of Crescendo Music House, a school for Western music in Ramalinga Nagar, Tiruchi.
“I am not originally from Tiruchi. And when I worked here in the insurance sector for over 7 years, I knew nobody. Today if I know so many people it is because of the choir, Singspirations and music, nothing else,” says Mr. Backia Seelan.
The eldest son of doctor parents, Mr. Backia Seelan, a native of Srivilliputhur, remembers “blowing with the wind” when it came to his career choices. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering, but opted to do his Masters in Business Administration because his friends were doing the same. He worked up to several “fancy job-titles” in the insurance sector and a leading online education portal, before he found his calling in music.
“My father (Late) Dr. T. Baskaran, had forcibly enrolled me for organ classes with the organist Mr. Nelson when I was in 7th Standard,” recalls Mr. Backia Seelan. “Organists, more than clergymen, are essentially wedded to the church, because their role is so crucial to all the services. Maybe this is why my father chose the organ,” he says.
When his teacher fell ill, the young Jonath was drafted in to play for a Sunday service at St. Thomas Church, Srivilliputhur. “I played badly,” he says now. “But I learned, mostly through trial and error, and a lot of veiled encouragement from my father.” Mr. Backia Seelan went on to serve as the organist of the church for 20 years. He has also been the organist in St. Peter’s Church, Golden Rock, Tiruchi, for two years.
Late bloomer
Mr. Backia Seelan was married and the father of a son when he sat for the Grade 5 Trinity College London exam for piano music in Tirunelveli. “All the other candidates were only as high as my knees – I was very ashamed, but I was sweating out of nervousness,” he recounts. He went on to complete Grade 8 in not just piano music, but also earned a similar certificate in Theory of Composition from Trinity. He is working towards a Licentiate in Theory of Music with London College of Music.
A keen chorister in his school days, Mr. Backia Seelan joined Singspirations as a singer in 2007, and from 2009, took over as choir director. He started conducting a year after.
Two years ago, he started taking music lessons at home for one or two children. As the student strength swelled to around 15, Mr. Backia Seelan realised he had to bid farewell to his corporate life. “There was a lot of family resistance to my decision, though my wife reluctantly supported me,” he says. “It was a bit risky quitting a highly-paid job, to set myself up as a music teacher. Moreover, I had a family to run. But as we are now close to 200 students, and I’m working on something I’m passionate about, I’m happy.”
Notable notes
Parents expect their children to become expert musicians even though they don’t want to put in the effort to truly learn Western music, says Mr. Bakcia Seelan. “For our Sing Gloria concert in September, I had to bring the pianist from Chennai, because there’s nobody in the city who could play Handel’s Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened ,” he says.
“In the entire State, you have only 4 or 5 expert pianists. But the Trinity College says that 8,500 students have written their exams this year. Where are the graduates?” wonders Mr. Backia Seelan.
With film music becoming the benchmark for most music learners, Mr. Backia Seelan says it’s time to revive the core forms, and in the case of Western music, to showcase it in a neutral space. “When we did our first ticketed show ( Taking Wings ) to celebrate our 10th anniversary in January, I wondered if people would pay to listen to choir music because churches are already offering it for free. To my surprise, 50 per cent of the audience was non-Christian. Perhaps we have begun to understand that Western music can be appreciated without a link to religion.”
The bond that a conductor forges with his singers is what makes choral singing stand apart in the age of automated music arrangements, says Mr. Backia Seelan. “I have to know about the vocal capacity of each of my choristers, and also ensure regular practice sessions,” he says. That in turn involves the full support of his wife, Dr. S. Sudarshini, who has to hold fort at home when he’s away. “I don’t think I can thank her enough,” he says.
As Singspirations grows in membership and popularity (it has started performing outside Tiruchi), and preparations get underway for the next set of concerts, Mr. Jonath Backia Seelan seems to be in his element.
“I’m not a very ambitious person, but it feels like becoming a music conductor has been the most responsible thing I have done in my life,” says the man who dreams of conducting Singspirations at London’s Royal Albert Hall one day.
