Rhythm of Love: In conversation with Mhonroni Lotha

Mhonroni Lotha a familiar face in the music community is a proficient in western classical and church music choral music genre. She observed that Nagas have an innate talent in music and hopes that the government includes music as an elective subject from pre-school till high school level. Mhonroni takes us through her musical journey in today’s Rhythm of Love.

EASTERN MIRROR: How did you get into music? Talk us through your musical journey.

Mhonroni Lotha: I took my first piano lessons from my cousin sister when I was little and that’s where it all started. Then I went on to study music in Patkai Christian College where Ma’am Margaret Shishak and Sir Kughaho Chishi played a vital role in my journey to pursue formal music education and profession. After my undergrad in Patkai, I worked as a part time choir director at the Kohima Lotha Baptist Church. I completed my Master of Arts in Church Music and Master of Music in Choral Conducting in 2017 from SWBTS, USA. I am currently working as an Assistant Professor in conducting in Margaret Shishak School of Music, Patkai Christian College (Autonomous).

EASTERN MIRROR: What are the genres that you teach/conduct?

I teach and conduct mostly collegiate level western classical and church music choral music genre. I have conducted black spirituals, western classical and eclectic choral pieces.

EASTERN MIRROR: You are one of the few female artists who have experienced the stage not just in your hometown but outside the state and country. How have those experiences changed you musically and artistically?

It has been a blessing to experience various arenas outside the state and country. These experiences to interact and share the stage with other musicians and music educators; to watch other professionals perform have been a tremendous learning curve which keeps me grounded, and has also helped me develop artistically as a musician. I am a strong advocate and firm believer in the principle that learning is a lifelong process and we stop growing the day we decide or even think that we have learnt enough or are too old to continue learning.

EASTERN MIRROR: What has been the highlight of your career so far?

The opportunity to participate as a choir member at the Baptist World Alliance Centenary Congress held in the UK in 2005, at the Asia Pacific Choir Games in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2017 and at The Economic Times Women Forum in 2018 with The Nagaland Chamber Choir. I performed as member of the SWBTS Master Chorale& SW Singers, various major works like the Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms German Requiem, Rutter’s Mass of the Children, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, etc. with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. I also had the privilege to take some MSSM Singers and alumnito Delhi for concerts in October 2019 which was a good exposure and learning experience to meet people who were passionate about choral music and get connected with music aficionados.

EASTERN MIRROR: What are the challenges and rewards that come from working as a music educator?

 There are various challenges, but I want to address these two specifically – We experience that when Bachelor of Music applicants come in for auditions, most of them just want to study their instrument (piano, voice, piano, violin, guitar, etc…), so we have to create awareness and educate our people that B.Mus is an all round formal music education course which include academic courses such as Music History, in depth theory and analysis classes, choral/ piano/vocal/string literatures, Ethnomusicology classes, etc… and mandatory to be in ensembles besides their applied instruments and performances.

The other challenge I want to address is that studying conducting as a profession is still new to our people in general. Choral or Instrumental conducting in general is so much more than just beating patterns or giving timing to the choir or ensemble. Besides technical understanding and expressing physical gestures, conductors are also required or supposed to understand and have knowledge about music history and theory, so they can interpret the performance practice or stylistic characteristics of the specific time period the composer is from.

As a music educator, I take it as a privilege to teach beyond textbook knowledge and four walls of the classroom, and to engage the students in different projects, presentation, performances and watch them develop confidence and make progress in their skills. As a conductor, the students all bring different gifts to the table and I am grateful I get to take all those beautiful tone colors, timbres, voices and weave the different gifts together and create something magical as a choir.

EASTERN MIRROR: Do you have any other musical projects lined up for the near future?

 The auditioned collegiate choir (MSSM Singers) that I teach, has a collaborative project (Western Classical Choral Music and Chamber String Music) with the Nagaland String Orchestra and The Nagaland Chamber Choir. We were preparing for concerts in Dimapur and Kohima this Spring. We are however, rescheduling to a later date due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

EASTERN MIRROR: Should the Government of Nagaland invest in music education and make it mandatory from pre-school till high school or only focus on classes 9, 10, 11 & 12 in taking music as an elective subject?

The Government of Nagaland should definitely continue to invest in music education and explore to invest in a broader spectrum. It will be beneficial to include music as an elective subject from pre-school till high school level. Nagas have an innate talent musically, and some take it as a hobby, but now we also see many Nagas exploring and willing to pursue formal music education professionally, but we find only few who started their musical training from a young age. This can be a challenge in terms of technique and skill level when they prepare to go for further studies abroad, and pursue music professionally. Abroad, music education starts from kinder-music through high school as part of their education system which does not only prepare them to study music professionally, but studying and taking music lessons has a lot of positive impact in building up an individual’s character in terms of discipline, maintaining consistency, concentration, confidence, etc.

EASTERN MIRROR: What are the avenues available for those wanting to do formal music study like a degree in music? For instance, in our state?

There are colleges offering Diplomas and Bachelor of Music degrees with varying degree of pre-requisites in our state like Nagaland Conservatory of Music (NCM) in Dimapur, and Nagaland College of Music and Fine Arts in Kohima, and of course, MSSM, Patkai.