Written by: Nayha Jehangir Khan
Posted on: September 24, 2019 | 
| 中文
Iman Shahid (centre) and Natasha Humera Ejaz (centre right) at SCOCYC
Independent musicians and artists in Pakistan are tenacious, ambitious and committed to their craft. New avenues of expression have paved the way for Pakistani artists to be visible to the world. But, although our musical lineage has historical origins dating back to the Indus Valley civilization, the legacy of that heritage is not taken seriously enough. Musical education in the East has traditionally been handed down from generation to generation, but it has yet to be introduced into academics and university level programs. A professional career in music is usually self-financed as the lack of fellowships, scholarships, stipends and grant funding is limited for the arts.
Natasha Humera Ejaz and Iman Shahid are young female Pakistani artists hailing from Islamabad, who have made a name for themselves in the independent music scene. These multitalented interdisciplinary artists have been delivering memorable performances all over Pakistan and internationally for over a decade. They can play a number of instruments, dance, act, model, and they have participated in international workshops and festival tours.
This year, their musical journey has taken them to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Countries Youth Choir, SCOCYC organized by the International Federation for Choral Music, IFCM and Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It took place in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and Beijing from June 25 to July 7, 2019. The SCOCYC accepted applications from several countries including Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. It aimed to celebrate the diversity and inclusivity offered to musicians through creating a unified choir under the banner of the IFCM. They had four additional observer country participants from Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia. To further this multicultural dialogue and exchange they had also invited musicians from Cambodia, Nepal, Armenia, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
The SCOCYC Choir (photo credits to Iman Shahid)
Pakistan has its own renditions of western choir practice or operatic vocal training in the form of Qawwalis, Ghazals, and in the rhythmic religious recitation of Zikr. The idea behind inviting a vast eastern belt to participate, is to highlight the overlapping similarities between rhythms and disciplines as a new way of promoting peaceful cultural exchanges. Fostering the largest network of musicians worldwide, the IFCM is a member of the International Music Council (IMC), a non-governmental advisory body formed by UNESCO to conserve and celebrate all kinds of musical art forms. IFCM works with internationally acclaimed choir conductors and musicians to create the spirit of SCOCYC. This year the participants were under the tutelage of conductor André de Quadros and Maria Goundorina.
“There were a lot of moving parts, as is normal with programs at that level,” Natasha explained. “But somehow, in rehearsal, there would be 60 individual people, all focused on the same goal, communicating mostly non-verbally. And the vocabulary we shared was the written music and our conductors’ entire range of physical, nonverbal vocabulary. So if André was on his toes, it meant a different dynamic than when Maria was on her toes, but those were our cues. The minute we all honed in on to how to learn, the task became much easier.”
The Choir during rehearsal (photo credits to Iman Shahid)
They visited museums, theatre productions and historical palaces across different cities. The conferences had participants singing in twelve different languages; they were sent sheet music and language guides prior to their arrival. Natasha and Iman had seventeen days to prepare themselves in these various choir styles and languages such as Russian, Persian, Chinese and many more. With only five rehearsal days, their goal was to become a unified voice with fifty-two singers and five instrumentalists from eighteen countries. Creating musical bridges between countries, ensuring a nurturing and safe environment for musicians from around the world, breaking stereotypes and traditional conservatism around choir practice, the SCOCYC is a gateway to a progressive inclusive global choir.
While representing Pakistan, Natasha and Iman found friendship and camaraderie with fellow participants during their rehearsals. The choir practiced every minute of every day, from the moment they were riding the bus, to rehearsals, to vocal warm-ups and harmonizing. They became a united organism spending time connecting with one another through the medium of choir. For each language choir piece, a native speaker was assigned to guide others with pronunciation and delivery. The dedication with which participants learned the language, scale, pitch and tone showed the transcendent quality of music.
Iman pictured with fellow choir members (photo credits to Iman Shahid)
“When you’re standing in your sections, realizing that you made a massive mistake somewhere and your section partner leans in to help carry the melody along… its magical. It was a really beautiful way to break away from feeling responsible all the time. And I think every musician, especially every Pakistani musician, deserves to experience that.”
Natasha and Iman embraced each language as its own immersive cultural process. Musicians need spaces and platforms to feel engaged and to learn from one another. Such experiences of learning and cooperation leave a lifelong impact on an artist’s musical understanding. Since their return to Islamabad, Natasha and Iman regularly gather with local singers to practice a form of choir closer to her own musical roots and understanding. They are taking steps to ensure that their SCOCYC experience helps not only their personal musical growth, but also the community of musicians in Pakistan who wish to hone their craft.
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