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The Capital City Minstrels – Winter Concerts 2018

The Capital City Minstrels will celebrate the sound of Christmas and the theme of ‘Peace’ at its upcoming winter concerts in December in New Delhi.

The Capital City Minstrels (CCM) returns this winter to celebrate the sound of Christmas with their ‘Peace’ themed concerts. As winter descends in all its beauty, the music will showcase the hope for a new season of peace – in every aspect of life, in an increasingly fragile, fractured world. The group will celebrate a number of women composers in the selection of music, as well as welcome back to the helm, Delhi based musician, composer and director, Sharmila Banerjee Livingston, as conductor of the group. Performing a dynamic Christmas repertoire, CCM will give the audience a taste of the joyful, inclusive and unifying nature of choral music.

Concert schedule

December 15, 7:30 PM – Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre. Tickets available on Bookmyshow

December 18, 7:00 PM – Cathedral Church of the Redemption, 1 Church Road, North Avenue (Free entry)

Repertoire

This season’s repertoire celebrates peace and harmony across pieces that span genres and time periods. The rock ballad, Go, Light Your World by Chris Rice, urges everyone to keep hope alive and “hold out your candle for all to see it”, while Stevie Wonder’s Someday at Christmas prophesies that peace will come “when we have found what life’s really worth.” Dona Nobis Pacem is traditionally sung at Christmas for its message of peace, and A Christmas Blessing by Lloyd Larson and Pamela Stewart wishes the peace of the season to fill our world. The latter is also significant as one of a few carefully selected pieces by Sharmila Banerjee Livingston to celebrate women composers and lyricists, others including Christina Rossetti, Ruth Morris Gray and Mary Lynn Lightfoot. From songs of jubilation to calming lullabies, songs that make you want to sway and clap, to poetic pieces that conjure visions of a winter night, the sound of Christmas will resonate through the concert.

About the Conductor

CCM has been conducted by various conductors from across the world, and is delighted to welcome back Delhi musician, composer and director, Sharmila Banerjee Livingston. Sharmila has acquired the moniker of Singing Baker over the years due to her dual professions in music and food.

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With a music degree from Wheaton College, Illinois, she has conceptualized, composed and directed several musicals, commissioned in celebration of major milestone events for schools, with casts ranging from 350-1000 members. Over the years she has been a choir member, soloist and Conductor of The Capital City Minstrels.

Her creativity has spilled into several mediums including paper, fabric, food and hospitality. Sharmila has enjoyed counselling young adults and married couples, with her husband, and has lived in the US, Japan and India with her family who share her love for people, travel, languages and culture.