Shillong Chamber Choir founder Neil Nongkynrih passes away

Neil and the entire Choir were in Mumbai for the past three months on work

Eminent musician and founder of Shillong Chamber Coir, Neil Nongkynrih died in Mumbai on Wednesday, leaving his fans and opera colleagues saddened.

The 51-year-old musician, who was awarded Padma Shri, country's fourth highest civilian award in 2015, died in a hospital in Mumbai after a surgery on Wednesday evening.

Shillong Chamber Coir (SSC) in a statement announced Nongkynrih's death but did not mention the exact cause of his demise.

"Uncle Neil was the life force of our world, a towering personality whose music, through the choir he so fondly nurtured, reached the ears of presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors and some of the biggest names in the worlds of sports, culture, business, music and film," Shillong Chamber Coir (SSC), which Nongkynrih founded in 2001, said.

In 2010, Nongkynrih led his choir to win "India's Got Talent," a TV reality show, catapulting the little Shillong musical unit to national and international stardom. Nongkynrih studied music at Trinity College and Guildhall School of Music in London. He did numerous concerts across Europe before returning to India in 2001.

Nongkynrih's musical genres included classical, pop, Jazz, Hindustani, folk and opera. The Choir's repertorie includes works of western classical music, hits by rock group Queen and Khasi folk song of his own state Meghalaya. The coir, now having 25 members, including 15 singers, and other musicians and soloists have so far performed in Britain, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Sri Lanka and in Indian cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

"Drawing from the music of his land and his own vast experience in the Western classical tradition, he gave classic Indian music a new touch, with his deft arrangements bringing delight to millions of listeners in India," the coir said.

One of the major events in Nongkynrih's life was when his version of "Vande Mataram" sung by Shillong Chamber Coir was played on the National Geographic channel during live telecast of the landing of Indian satellite, Chandrayan-2.

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