A motley crew of professionals including doctors, lawyers, architects, teachers, corporate executives and Embassy personnel of all ages and nationalities who make up the Capital City Minstrels will be opening their summer show this weekend with a performance of over 15 songs belonging to various genres.
The various choir members speak French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Hungarian and a host of Indian languages, but are united by a common language — music.
The choir, which has been performing for over 20 years, has titled its summer production “Music Without Boundaries”. It will showcase a wide range of choral music, ranging from Broadway and gospel to Indian compositions and show tunes.
Audiences will get to enjoy arrangements like “A Prayer For Peace” by Paul Fetler; “Dravidian Dithyramb” by Victor Paranjoti (which has traces of not only Carnatic music but also of tarana , which is a form of Hindustani classical music, using Persian and Arabic phonemes as nonsense syllables). To add the festive spirit to the performances, “Dai Diddle Dai” by David Edelman, which captures the spirit of Hannukah, will also be performed.
This year, the group will also perform and add spin to popular Tamil song “Balleilakka, Balleilakka” by A.R. Rahman, which promises to add variety to the performance.
The choir will be conducted by Carolin Remy and accompanied by pianist Nise Meruno and percussionist Suchet Malhotra.
The concerts span a week in May at various locations in Delhi as well as a performance in June in Gurgaon.
The choir will then leave for a tour of Europe in June, where they will then perform in Hungary, Germany and Switzerland.
The first show is at the Chapel of the Vatican Holy See Embassy in Chanakyapuri on May 3. It will be followed by a performance at the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre on May 6, followed by a show at the India Habitat Centre on May 7. The Guragon show will be held at Epicentre on June 5. Tickets for the event are available online.
The choir members are a motley crew from various professions, ages and nationalities
