Fact 1: Choir singers wear a smile to keep their singing from sounding flat. Fact 2: Choir singers not only harmonise their voices but also their heartbeat. This is evident when you watch choral conductor Nadezda (Nadya) Balyan in action during a performance by the Delhi Chamber Choir (DCC).
Trying to get the best sounds out of a group of over 20 Indian singers sitting in a semi-circle with their backs absolutely straight, their hearts beating in unison and eyes fixed on Nadezda, she instructs, “be stable. Breathe in, breathe out. Shut your ears and sing.
Control your tone. Use your head voice, not your chest voice.” An alumna of the Moscow State University of Art and Culture, Nadezda runs the Piano Forte School of Music and Art in New Delhi.
She also directs the Delhi Chamber Choir as its main conductor for Western classical music. She came to India in 2007, and has conducted more than 500 choirs across Russia and India. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Piano and Choir conducting from Tula Music College and a Master’s degree in Music Theory from Moscow State University of Art and Culture.
Nadezda says she cannot imagine a life without music. “When I was a year old, I used to walk towards the piano and play some melody, and my grandfather would say, ‘Oh, she’s going to be a musician someday.’ I became a pianist first.
Later I decided to try my hand at being a conductor. I also sought training in vocals along with music theory.” Nadezda feels that conducting co.