Nongkynrih studied music at
Trinity College and
Guildhall School of Music in
London. He performed in numerous shows as a concert pianist in United Kingdom. Nongkynrih was also teaching music in
Oxfordshire in addition to the concerts. One of his students was
Philip Selway, a member of the
British band
Radiohead. He returned to India in 2001 and started teaching
piano in Shillong. In the same year, he founded the
Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC). Nongkynrih worked on a wide variety of musical genres ranging from Western and Indian classical music to Bollywood and pop medleys. He wrote an opera in
Khasi, the native language of Meghalaya, with the intention to revive the dialect. The opera, titled
Sohlyngngem, is based on a tragic Khasi folktale which was woven into musical lingo by Nongkynrih and his team.
Shillong Chamber Choir Nongkynrih came back home to
Shillong in India in 2001 after fourteen years in Europe leaving behind a potential career as a classical pianist there. In a later interview he referred to the violence in the region and said he had heard the sounds of the guns early in 2001 and decided that he wanted to replace it with the sound of music. From a small beginning he attracted a group of ordinary young people who made their debut as the Shillong Chamber Choir. The group covered music from folk to opera, from rock to jazz, and even included Hindustani classical and reinterpreted versions of Indian cinematic music. The choir shot to national fame after it won the reality talent show,
India's Got Talent (Season 2) in October 2010, on
Colors TV, part of the
Got Talent franchise, where it performed western chorals, as well as choral-style revamps of
Hindi film (
Bollywood) classics. Under Nongkynrih's direction, the choir participated in the 6th
World Choir Games held at
Shaoxing China (
Shanghai) in July 2010 and was awarded Gold in all three categories viz. Musica Sacra, Gospel and Popular. The choir also performed for
Barack Obama and
Michelle Obama, the
US President and
first lady at the time, during their visit to India in 2010. The choir also worked on several projects, albums and collaborations. Nongkynrih's version of "
Vande Mataram" was sung by the SCC on
National Geographic during a live telecast covering the launch of
Chandrayaan-2. The SCC has performed extensively in India and has toured parts of the world. Over the years, Nongkynrih worked on revamping the Choir's repertoire with many new compositions and out of the box medleys apart from the opera
Sohlyngngem that he was working on.
Collaborations and social causes Nongkynrih collaborated with various artists. Some of his collaborations with international orchestras included the London Concertante, the
Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the
Fitzwilliam Quartet in Switzerland. A collaboration with
Zakir Hussain,
Usha Uthup and
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy led to a best-selling Christmas music album in 2011. • Performances at the
Gateway of India in remembrance of the 26/11 terror attacks in 2012 & 2013. • Sang for 'Saath Hai Hum Uttarakhand' - a
Star Plus fundraiser for the Uttarakhand flood relief. • Performed with
Amitabh Bachchan at the
Global Citizen Festival and Jodhpur One World Retreat.
Other projects Central Board of Film Certification Nongkynrih was made a member of the board of India's
Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in 2017.
World Choir Council Earlier, in 2012, Nongkynrih was appointed by the
World Choir Council for a four-year term on the council.
Sohlyngngem – the opera One of Nongkynrih's major projects included an opera titled
Sohlyngngem which was based on a tragic
Khasi folktale. Even though excerpts from the opera have been performed earlier, three pieces from the opera were performed by the SCC at the
MTV India Music Summit in 2019, held in
Jaipur which was a highlight of the three-day musical event. At the time, he was still working on the opera, which was expected to be performed by the SCC in its entirety upon completion.
Home school – Shillong Chamber School Nongkynrih also started a home school at his residence in Shillong for children from the region. Director
Urmi Juvekar made a documentary on Nongkynrih's life, titled
The Shillong Chamber Choir and the Little Home School. The documentary was exhibited at a few international movie festivals. The school was later named the Shillong Chamber School and had about 20 students in attendance as of 2016. The school's curriculum various arts like music and drama, in addition to the traditional school curriculum. The students of the school have performed with the SCC and the European Concert Orchestra in Mumbai for a Christmas Concert and also before
Rajiv Bajaj and cricketer
MS Dhoni at a private event in Pune. == Honours ==