Shillong Chamber Choir founder Neil Nongkynrih dies at 52

NEW DELHI: Shillong Chamber Choir founder and noted music composer Neil Nongkynrih died at a hospital in Mumbai today after a brief illness, Choir officials said. He was 51.

Uncle Neil, as he was fondly known to all, was admitted to Mumbai's Reliance Hospital on Tuesday.

Neil Nongkynrih was in Mumbai for the past three months for work with the entire Choir.

"It is with deep sorrow that we, the members and management of the Shillong Chamber Choir, announce the death of our beloved founder and music director, Mr Neil Nongkynrih," the Choir said in a statement.

"Uncle Neil was the life force of our world, a towering personality whose music, through the choir he so fondly nurtured, reached the ears of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors, and some of the biggest names in the worlds of sports, culture, business, music, and film," it said.