UK’s All-Male Choir Only Men Aloud to Perform in Mumbai Today
The Welsh group has also partnered with the NGO Songbound to empower underprivileged children through music
Only Men Aloud with the Songbound children. Photo: Courtesy of Aviareps
Formed in 2000, Welsh choir Only Men Aloud (OMA) rose to fame in 2008 when they won Last Choir Standing, a music contest hosted by BBC. The choir went on to sign a record deal with Universal Music and release five albums. The nine-piece all-male group are now set to perform in India for the first time today, at Shindewadi School in Dadar, Mumbai. The performance is part of the group’s partnership with Mumbai-based children’s charity Songbound, which works towards empowering underprivileged children through music. Much like OMA’s own nonprofit Only Boys Aloud, Songbound sets up children’s choirs that rehearse weekly for performances throughout the year.
This past week saw OMA working closely with girl students from the Shindewadi School with whom they will be performing at the show. They also collaborated with the Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Rahul Pandey on a new song titled “Apni Yeh Zameen,” which they will present today.
Watch their performance of “All By Myself” at the finals of Last Choir Standing below:
Tim Rhys-Evans MBE, Founder & Artistic Director of OMA says, “The girls have taught us Hindi songs and we’ve shared Welsh songs with them. We’ve played games, we’ve shared our languages and I hope all the girls have had a great time.”
OMA are also in the country filming a show titled OMA in Bollywood, which will see them explore all things Bollywood. The group has a busy summer of concerts planned and are also plotting their next album. Rhys-Evans adds, “’Apni Yeh Zameen’ might feature on it. I really hope that part of our future plans will include a return trip to India; there’s so much more to explore and savor.”
Only Men Aloud will perform today at Shindewadi School in Dadar, Mumbai from 4:30 pm onwards.
