MIT Ohms, MIT’s only South Asian a cappella group held its year concert on Nov 17, 2012 at Huntington Hall at MIT.  Under the direction of Divya Pillai who is a sophomore at MIT studying electrical engineering and computer science, the Ohms team delighted audiences with their original arrangements. Members of the group come with a diverse set of musical training and ethnic backgrounds. 

The concert opened with “Love Mil Gaya”, an arrangement by Divya Pillai that mixed “We found love” by Rihanna with “Koi Mil Gaya”.  The piece opened with a beautiful choral four-part harmony. Soloists Meena Subramaniam and Swethasri Dravida rendered the melody. The beautiful composition set a very high expectation for the concert from the get-go. 

This was followed by “What makes dil dadakne” a combination of “What makes you beautiful” by One Direction and “Dil Dadakne Do”.  â€œNahin Samne” from the famous movie Taal  was arranged by Aishwarya Anathabhotla.  Though originally sung in a male voice, Aishwarya arranged it beautiful for two female voices. 

Divya Srinivasan’s arrangement of combination of  â€œApologize” by Timbaland, “Tujhe Bula Diya” and “Teri Meri” was a melodious number featuring a lovely trio. 

“Rumor Mitti Bol” followed. Vipul Vachharajani and Marian Heman-Ackah presented a brilliant duet. 

“Subah Hone Give me Everything”, a combination of “Subah Hone na De” and “Give me Everything” by Pitbull was arranged by founder and first music director of MIT Ohms, Arun Saigal.  It was a upbeat lively conclusion to a lovely program. 

Just as we thought we had enjoyed a fabulous evening, the audience demanded that Ohms perform one of their famous signature pieces, “Sheila Don’t Lie”, a combination of “Sheila ki jawani” and “Hips don’t lie” by Shakira. The piece had the audience on their feet and applause continued for a long time. 

MIT Ohms is less than three years old and already has become a very popular a cappella group on campus.  The arrangements draw on the unique musical training of its members that range from Carnatic classical to Opera. This makes for a delightful sound that is very entertaining. 

We look forward to the next concert from this group. To see their work please check out http://youtube.com/ohmsmit.