It seems natural for even accomplished musicians in the State to have their foundations in the Sunday School and Church, even as Bethel Tsuzu confesses that these are the first reasons for music in her life. Actually, she belongs to a family - sisters – of established singers and musicians, to which end, she also says, “My childhood was all about music at home; singing, playing the piano or guitar. Thus, we had competition at home between sisters in regard to our individual musical talents.”
Considering the environment she grew up in, it does not come as very surprising when she says, “After my 12th standard, I could think of no other course but to pursue music as a career option. So, I went on to do my Bachelor’s in Church Music from Singapore Bible College, with a Major in Piano.” Describing this as the alpha of her musical journey, she, however insists, “But never to forget, it all began because of an inspirational, talented loving and caring American missionary, our dearest Ma’am Margaret Shishak”, who, she bears witness, also brought western classical music into many of their lives.
Adding still that she and her sisters were very lucky and blessed to have grown up in an environment where there were real acoustic pianos to play on at a time in Nagaland where piano was unheard of, she further enlightens, “This was in Patkai Christian college and I owe this all to Ma’am Margaret Shishak, who was like a second mother to us when we were young. She took the pain and commitment to make sure we practiced in her home piano every single day and take lessons without fail every week. And most importantly, I would get the opportunity to get up on stage as a young girl and play and sing for hundreds of college students all through my younger days. So I practically had stage and performance exposure in my growing years.”
Along the way,Bethel has achieved extraordinary feats in her career as a musician. Bethel is the recipient of the Young Musicians Award by NEZCC in 2008, besides scoring the highest marks in Licentiate of Trinity College London (LTCL) in Bangalore 2011; she is also the recipient of the Edgar Fewekes Memorial Trophy for outstanding Musician in Bangalore and yes, understandably, she was elated to hear the entire Asian Baptist Women Convention participants singing her composition of the theme song in 2009. She has also gone on tour with the likes of Dr. L Subramaniam and his wife Kavitha Krishnamurthy and played with other acclaimed Carnatic musicians. It is also worth mentioning that she has gone on extensive performance tours across the world such as Nigeria,USA, most of South East Asia, and cities across India.
Currently based in Bangalore, she presently works with over 100 underprivileged HIV children by way of bringing music education into their lives. This job, she says, has given her great satisfaction deep down even as she expresses, “I think I like this the most in all the many musical journeys I have undertaken.”
She is also very excited about Musica Nova, a musical group she formed with her sister Deborah (who currently lives in the US in Phoenix,Arizona) and some other excellent musicians from around the world.
For those who do not know,Bethel, along with her other sister Nituo, was instrumental in bringing Furtados Music Showroom (part of Furtados Music India Pvt Ltd) to Nagaland, precisely in Dimapur during 2009, for easier accessibility to our folks at home. It is also a platform for many local musicians to have access to musical workshops, small recitals and performances, interactions with musicians, and a place to access numerous books and materials on music. This, of course, also came out of the struggle they both went through as young musicians with no access to instruments and materials.
Looking back on her journey through life so far,Bethel says, “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon where everything was available at the snap of a finger; I am grateful for that period in my life as it inculcated good values in me.”
She goes on to add: “In my musical journey, I realised the world was not so pretty and every move was tough to navigate. I went through my share of struggles, fought my way through, made mistakes and learned from them, and continued to play on. Today, I can confidently say that I have worked hard to reach where I am now. As a girl, it was never easy as there were lots of hurdles whether on the home front or the society. Hence, our explorations of the inner being and music around us were limited and curbed. Our church music is a great foundation that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. That made me a versatile musician, with stronger ears to the harmony and melody. These were the various phases in the metamorphosis of evolving into a seasoned musician.”
When asked to share her observations on the state of music in Nagaland, she is quick to respond that the young upcoming musicians are much more aware of the competition they have around them, aware of the many different kinds of music, musically much wiser and meticulous than when they were younger.
She also holds that media is ‘so powerful that the world has become much smaller than our days, so also the world of music’.
“The State has now (thankfully) realised where we score on and is much more supportive and I am very glad and relieved to see the manner in which young people do not hesitate to follow the musical path. I always felt (I was a victim too) the youth have nothing or too little healthy entertainment in their lives in Nagaland. It’s very limited that boredom sets in very fast, and hence they take to drugs and drinking. But I can see things are changing and it better be. Because we are just as good and smart as anyone out there (or better), and we need our leaders to be aware of this and support the deserving musicians from our homeland.”
“If music is what keeps the youth busy, then let it be. We need proper concert halls at prime locations for western classical and traditional folk music. We also need greater appreciation of art, we need many more qualified teachers, and a lot of international mutual exchange musical programs”, she emphasises.
Music and business, for Bethel, are like two ends of a pole even as she explains, ‘My job with Bangalore Furtados Music Pvt India ltd, created a bridge between my musical talents and business skills’, and further adds that the challenge was to convert music into numbers as their senior piano consultant, spearheading the Bangalore retail branch, and heading the music school.” “I had to apply my entrepreneurial skills to be successful in the business of music industry”, she enlightens.
Talking of which, she says, “The HIV positive children I am working with currently is another big challenge I am blessed with. The challenge to be fruitful, and to make sure their lives are enriched with the music in return.”
Musically, she says that she is always challenged with the Indian beats and rhythm and continue to admire and be awed by it; as well as our tribal indigenous music as it is quite limited in harmony and melody, which she is keen on continually working on. She feels that the vocal technic involved is beautiful even as she states great respect for those who have so far taken the challenge to bring it to an international platform.
When she was in college, Bethel recalls being part of a band called Spindrift, and today she realises how that small window also made her a much more fearless musician as she also learnt to play styles other than classical. Still, she owes much of it to her music teachers in Nagaland, (Margaret Shishak, Vivee Peseyie and Ren Merry) who, she says, have been instrumental in shaping her to be a better musician. “I have also spent a lot of time in my university years in Singapore conducting adult choirs and working with children voices which has greatly honed my listening skills and taught me people/personality management. Bur above all, I always thank God, because it is He who gave me this talent and I believe I just cannot let it rest”, she passionately puts across.
Nothing, however, separates the special bond that binds family as she remembers… “My parents are not great musicians to the world but in my eyes they are. Both are quite musical and love to sing. Recently, my dad and some of us sisters got together and sang just hymns and I was so elated to hear my dad sing beautifully at the age of 75. My mom at 68 still continues to lead the women group at church in their singing and she loves to compose tunes as and when possible.”
People have often toldBethelthat she is very ambitious. But she feels, “I don’t see why not, when you have one life and the capacity to do good for a better society.”
She may not be based in Nagaland currently, but she definitely has her heart planted here even as she expresses her desire for so many things to be done. ‘I just hope one day I can achieve some, if not all of it’, she expresses.
And she would like to be a finer musician and also play a pivotal role in taking our Naga folk music to the rest of the world while creating a launching platform for young talented, disciplined, hardworking dedicated musicians from Nagaland to excel in the field of art and music across the world; and further take Musica Nova, which is a cultural blend of traditional Naga music and western and Indian classical music to an international platform.
All her life, Bethel Tsuzu wanted to be a performer, travel around the world and meet other musicians…well, it looks like most of her dreams have already come true. And she is giving herself time to do more music, perform, teach, travel, love her family and be more mature in music and life as well.
“And I think this maturity is beautiful as I learn to accept certain things and make the most of what I have in me. I never really decided to take a turn with ambition…it was always there”, the outstanding and gifted pianist, who has also tried her hands at the cello and handbells, puts across.
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