Delhi Chamber Choir's soprano, Vaibhavi Singh, and tenor, Gaurav Vohra, have recently been accepted at the prestigious St Petersburg State Conservatory, making them the first Indian students to attend.

When the lockdown cancelled the entire 2020 concert season, Delhi Chamber Choir focused on improving its musicianship, through classes and workshops with guest teachers from Europe. Vaibhavi and Gaurav slowly segued from the group sessions to solo lessons from DCC’s Conductor Nadezda Balyan and noted Russian Soprano, Tatiana Smantser. Looking at their potential Nadya decided to help them apply to select schools and a year later, they're en route to one of the finest conservatories in the world - also the toughest to get into.

The process made visible the challenges of pursuing an education in Western classical music for Indian students. It's more challenging for singers since they have a narrow age window to develop their voices and technique, alongside sight-reading and solfeggio (specialised ear-training) skills in time to enter conservatories. There is a dearth of conservatory alumni and teachers in India with the skillset and influential networks to prepare aspiring musicians.

In this sense, the two singers were lucky. Thanks to DCC's international network, we were able to find teachers based in St. Petersburg (and alumni of the school) who, alongside Nadya, trained and prepared them for their auditions. They had the Russian Cultural Centre's unconditional support with scholarships and financial aid, the visa process, Russian language classes, and even personal recommendations made to the Conservatory. All this was done virtually, amid the pandemic! If Indian institutions took as much interest, we're sure we'll be able to send many more students.

This is a big win for DCC especially coming out of the pandemic wondering about our future. It's been a fulfilling journey that began with introducing these young singers to the works of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and now sending them off to the very place the maestros were students themselves. DCC is confident that their experience will pave the way for singers, instrumentalists and conductors, and we hope the growing interest in Western Classical Music Education encourages institutional support from government and private sectors.

Delhi Chamber Choir was formed in 2007 with the intention of making Western classical music accessible, approachable, and appreciable to audiences in Delhi.

Little has changed over the years, except that DCC members have grown younger and come from much more diverse backgrounds. Their musicians, marketers, teachers, customer relations professionals, and together sing Bach, Palestrina, Poulenc, and more, in Latin, French, Russian, German, Hungarian, and any other language the score instructs. DCC’s repertoire is largely classical, but they do sing folk, and even - when in the mood - some contemporary music too.

DCC performed at the Akshara Theatre, The Pianoman Jazz Club, Cathedral Church of the Redemption, Baha’i Auditorium (Lotus Temple), French Embassy, Russian Cultural Centre, and other places.

An alumnus of the reputed Moscow State University of Art & Culture, Nadezda Balyan has conducted choirs in Russia and India for over a decade. In Delhi, she has worked extensively with the Neemrana Music Foundation and Delhi Chamber Choir, in a number of operas with performers of international fame.