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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
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People move to their seats in a large room. The lights get dark and the music begins to play. The sound of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra fills the room. Then a choir begins to sing. The voices are beautiful. But this choir is not from Vienna. In fact the event is not in Austria. This is the Shillong Chamber Choir. The choir is from North East India. The Vienna Chamber Orchestra has travelled all the way to India to play with this small group, in this small community. Today’s Spotlight is on the Shillong Chamber Choir and their leader Neal Nongkynrih.
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Neal Nongkyrih was born in Shillong, India. He enjoyed music as a child. When he was young, Neal’s great aunt taught him about classical European composers such as Mozart and Beethoven. Neal’s sister taught him how to play the piano. He never received any school training in music. But in time, Neal improved greatly. When he was a teenager, he won a national piano competition. After this success, a wealthy man offered to pay for Neal to attend the Guildhall School of Music in London.
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So Neal left India for England. After the Guildhall School, he attended Trinity College. He loved his new life in London. He worked as a concert pianist and taught piano. He was a successful musician. But Neal was not sure about his new job. He felt that the music business in Britain was too much of a business. People did not love the music enough. Neal worked hard but after some time he felt sick. Finally, a doctor suggested that he return to Shillong to rest.
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Back in Shillong, Neal tried to rest. He did not feel the pressure of performing. He had only planned to rest for a short time. But soon, he decided to stay for longer. He felt that his skills could be helpful for the community.
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In 2001 Neal decided to start a choir. At first, it was difficult to find people to join the singing group. So Neal tried something different.
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“I was getting troubled with people who would come to the choir for a short time and then go back to join their schools, colleges, and places of work. I decided to take a risk. I started my own school where I would teach them music as well as their other subjects of study.”
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Neal searched the city for children with musical training. He wanted to get the best trained students. But he soon changed his mind. He did not want to only help the good students.
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So he began to find children who were interested in joining the choir and offered them free classes at his school. He welcomed them to stay at his home. Neal looked for poor families whose children he could help.
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One of these children is Johanan Lyngdoh. Today, he is nineteen. Johanan used to be addicted to illegal drugs. He was part of a violent gang. His family had given up on him. They left him with Neil. Today Johanan says that it was Neal’s music and teaching that brought him back from a bad life.
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Another one of Neal’s students is a young girl named Mika. Mika has Down’s Syndrome. This is an intellectual disability. People with Down’s Syndrome usually have limited intelligence. Neil accepted Mika into his home school. Mika can now sing, play the piano, and read music. Without Neil, she probably would not have gone to school. Today, Neal is planning to record a collection of songs with Mika playing the piano.
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Today, there are about twelve children studying at Neal’s home school. Most of them come from bad families or suffer from a mental disability. Neal says that accepting these children has been easy for him.
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“These children now stay with me. The school is about living together and enjoying music. For me, music is a means to join into the community.”
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Singing is not something that is new to the community of Shillong. In fact, Shillong has been a home to Western classical music for many years. There is a large Christian community in Shillong. The churches have been centers for classical music. But when Neal started his choir, people were not sure it was a good thing. Many people thought that choir music belonged in churches. Neal wanted to spread the love of music even outside the church walls.
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Neal does not just teach the Shillong Chamber choir the music of great European composers. They sing Bollywood music, and songs by popular rock and roll artists such as Queen and ABBA. And the choir also sings songs that Neal writes himself.
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The choir has performed all over India, and internationally. In 2009 they competed at the World Choir Championships in South Korea. They sang many different kinds of songs by many different artists. They competed against choirs from all around the world. The Shillong Chamber Choir was the first choir to represent India in a World Choir Competition. The choir won a silver medal.
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The choir continues to sing around the world. They are considered to be one of the best singing groups in the world. Neal’s first student, Ibarisha, has been offered an invitation to the world famous Julliard School of Music in New York. Another student has been offered free schooling in France. But the students are not leaving the choir. They want to stay with Neal and the other students.
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Neal says that this love of music has healing effects on people. Many of the students in the Shillong Chamber Choir have had difficult lives. He says that singing has helped them. But he does not believe that it is only music that has made the children’s lives better.
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“Sometimes I give too much credit to music. Healing power comes from God who gives us all different skills. Music is just one of them. The ultimate source of healing is God.”
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When Neal first came back to Shillong, he came to find a place to rest and heal. Today, he hopes that the Shillong Chamber Choir and his school can be a place for rest and healing for many more children to come.
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The writer and producer of this program was Joshua Leo. All quotes have been adapted and voiced by Spotlight. Computer users can hear our programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at This program is called “Singing Changes Lives”.
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If you have a comment or question about this program, you can e-mail us. Our e-mail address is . We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. |