The Wedding Season 2021

 The Wedding Season has begun!!!

After a washed out wedding season in 2020 and the first half of 2021, young couples are looking forward to better celebrations in the current season that is just starting.... thanks to the prospect of life returnng to normal - at least in India. In fact, this last Sunday, I witnessed not one, but TWO weddings in my local parish. With some of the regulations still in place, I was requested to provide music at the Church service for both these weddings. 

I couldn't help remember my teenage days, when I was part of this choir group that used to sing for weddings - mostly at Don Bosco's Shrine (Matunga) and Our Lady of Dolours Church (Wadala)... sometimes we got requests to sing at some other churches as well. I once landed for a wedding at Our Lady of Fatima Church Sewri and noticed many familiar faces.... turned out to be the wedding of one of our parishioners there.

Coming back to the music, a favorite song at the Entrance of the service was "The Wedding (Ave Maria)" - by Julie Rogers (1964)

And after the nuptials, a favorite would be "Song of Ruth (Wherever You Go)". The lyrics of this song are from the Bible - the book of Ruth 1: 16-17. In fact the song is not a dedication for marriage. 

The Book of Ruth opens with the death of Naomi's husband and their two sons in a foreign land. Naomi decides to head back home and tells the daughers in law to return to their maiden families. This song is Ruth's reply to Naomi. And rightly so, as the story goes on, Ruth returns to Bethlehem with Naomi and eventually remarries. She is listed as an important Biblical Woman - the great grandmother of King David. 

The song we sang for the current weddings was "But I Wish You Jesus" by Scott Wesley Brown 

 

And for the Finale - was a beautiful song from The Seekers - again from the 1960s - "I'll Never Find Another You". I really enjoyed playing this song which has been adopted by the Marriage Encounter Program as its anthem. The Program orients couples to prepare for marriage and after the wedding to strengthen their commitment. I've uploaded my rendition (cover) of the song on my YouTube Channel. Inviting you to subscribe if you like it. 

I hope you liked it.... If you are a musician, you may be able to benefit from another video I've posted for the song, with the chords of the song.... Do share your feedback. 

Thanks for reading the blog.... I hope you liked the music.

Rewind 2016

We're on the last day of the year... And possibly the best time to look back at the year that's been... 2016.

The year started with the wish - Happy New Year - and a truly happy one it has been.... on the family front, on the professional one and even with the hobbies. 

On the family front first - completed 15 years of marriage just yesterday - celebrating Crystal Anniv with Kristel.... 10 more to Silver. My son is a teenager this year and making the most of every opportunity that he gets - at school, in sport and with music - Into The Teens. My younger son as well at 7 is stepping into a new phase of confidence and taking the lead in stepping forward with initiative. Annual Days and Fun Fairs - Keeping the Music Alive.

On the professional front I settled into a new role at the restructured Publicis Media in the current role as part of the Digital Ad Operations and the Trading Desk at the agency. Made further forays into education having delivered courses and industry interaction sessions to Full-time, Part-time and Executive MBA students at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) and Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of Management and Research (VESIM) in CRM and Digital Marketing. My role as a educator was helped to a large extent by the Forum for Marketing Education that saw the light of day this year and conducted four workshops to help Marketing Educators like myself grow in the role.
Thanks to this Forum, I got the opportunity to reconnect with one of my first bosses in the world of communication - Dr. Ambi Parameswaran - and enjoyed reading his book, Nawabs, Nudes and Noodles, that reignited wonderful advertising memories from childhood to recent times.

I've had a good run through the year entertaining as Sunil Pinto Entertains having compered a host of Weddings and Silver Weddings this year... Also did a couple of Dance Concerts and some interesting events showcasing the talent of children and youth even down to our parish. 

My Facebook Page - Sunil Pinto Entertains - has hosted videos, pics and comments from the various events I've been part of. The page has also been a single point to share my love of music with wonderful readers from around the world. Also a great digital tool has been this blog - A Musical Twist To Life - that's near to 13000 pageviews with this being the 185th post (130th for the year - with more than 2 posts a week).

Thanks to your support, the following posts on as diverse topics as Dance styles, Animals and Travel topped the views this year...

TWIST

Woof, Meoow, Neigh.... Talk To The Animals

Around The World In 14 Songs

A couple of days ago, I was having a conversation with my seven-year old son, who asked me... "Dad, you wrote posts on your blog to count down to Christmas...5 days, 4 days, 3 days and 2 days... but no post on one day and on Christmas day itself... Why? The two boys were sitting at the PC earlier today and bookmarked this video to share on this post.

In a couple of hours from now, we as a family head to Church to thank the Lord for the blessings of 2016 and to seek continued favour into the New Year... Yes, I need the grace of the Almighty to Light It Up in 2017... And wish each of my relatives, friends and acquaintances, LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE in the NEW YEAR. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017

P.S. This post would be incomplete without this...

Celebrate MUSIC....The Elixir Of Life

But how did music come along? Let's hear about The Evolution of Music from Pentatonix.

I was born with music inside me. 

Music was one of my parts. 

Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. 

Like my blood. 

It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. 

It was a necessity for me - like food or water. 

- Ray Charles

Like Ray Charles, I too have been born with music inside me. I may not be famous, but music has this way of inspiring me. And I must say 'Thank You For The Music'

And I just can't keep it to myself... I just have to share it...

Over the past two years, I've been sharing this wonderful gift of music by leading the singing in Church every weekday morning. Having changed my work timings, I had to skip this music in my life. I'm back to my old timings now and back to praising God for the talents He has given me by sharing it with others - not just by singing but also by teaching. I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing.

I've taught my children to sing... and then even worked with choirs... I've also taught young music enthusiasts to play music on the keyboard and the guitar... 

And nowadays, thanks to the social media, I get to share a lot more music with anyone who's interested with daily posts on my Facebook and Twitter pages including Musical News, Trivia, Birthdays and more... If you're not yet a fan or follower, go ahead and connect now. 

On World Music Day today, I wish you all not just today... but everyday filled with music. Here's something to celebrate the difference that Music makes...