For the past 29 years, the Capital City Minstrels has been ushering the Yuletide spirit

Meet Delhi’s popular choir group

It’s a chilly evening in Delhi, and the hallowed hall of Kamani auditorium is booked out. The stage is bedecked with festive gear — a Christmas tree, Santa’s sleigh, wrapped presents, and more. A group of women clad in elegant red saris paired with green blouses, and men in pristine white kurtas matched with gold dupattas, open the concert with the upbeat and joyful, ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’. The mood is firmly set for ‘A Nostalgic Christmas’. 

This merry show was the annual winter performance of the Capital City Minstrels, a western music choir that has been regaling listeners in Delhi, and a few other cities in India and abroad, for 29 years. Started originally by Zohra Shaw, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, as a chamber ensemble of 12 singers, the group has now grown to over 70 members. Neeraj Devraj, who works in the real estate industry and is the current president of the group, has been a member since 1996, when he was 15. He recalls performing mostly at embassy gatherings and private events in the initial years. Barring the Covid years, the group’s bi-annual concerts have now become important dates on the city’s cultural calendar.

This winter, the group decided to make old school Christmas cheer its theme. And this became amply clear as the choir breezed through its 18 festive pieces, one of which was an intensive 12-song medley aptly named ‘The Twelve Songs of Christmas’. 

The singers brought forth energy and good cheer through peppy numbers such as ‘Sleigh ride’ and ‘Jingle bells’; offered a glimpse of their range and depth with ‘Angels we have heard on high’ and ‘Still, still, still’; and paid ode to seasonal pop culture with ‘Fly me to the moon’, ‘Last Christmas’ and the ever-popular ‘All I want for Christmas is you.’ 

The choir consisting of sopranos, altos, tenors, basses and soloists never seemed to miss a beat. It was ably led by conductor Nadezda Balyan from Russia, who runs a music school and also conducts the Delhi Chamber Choir. Pianist Nise Meruno, percussionist Nitesh Chadelkar and flautist Nathalie Ramirez accompanied them on stage. 

“Our members include people of all ages, nationalities and walks of life – we have students, musicians, doctors, lawyers, architects, expats, diplomats, social development professionals, journalists, entrepreneurs, and more. We are people with a passion for singing, and that has remained unchanged over the years,” says Devraj.

Sixteen-year-old student Anya Lall, the group’s youngest member, gives this assessment an eager stamp of approval. “Joining the Capital City Minstrels this season was the coolest thing ever,” says Anya, who went through a gruelling audition to make the cut.