Daijiworld Media Network - Dallas, TX
Dallas (Texas, USA), Dec 17: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel" - Is 7:14.
Above is the cornerstone verse for a new Christmas Concert production called 'King of the Nations'. A musical work written, composed and directed by Joslin D'Souza. The album, which will be released next year is based on the Nativity story. "What began as an inspiration for a single song, blossomed into a 20 song project and concert production," says Joslin.
It took Joslin six long years of research, songwriting, composing and arranging to bring this project to life. It started with Joslin seeing a concert by the band called Trans Siberian Orchestra. After watching the magnitude of the production of their concert, he thought that it was great. But it had NOTHING to do with the 'actual' story of Christmas. Eight times out of ten, many of the carols we hear and sing, and even material artifacts that are sold to us during the Christmas season, such as Christmas tree, Santa Claus, Reindeers, Mistletoe etc, have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.
Every song will take the listener on a journey. Starting with the angels heralding the birth of heaven's King, to until after the wise men arrive. Every major character gets his role in the show. Even characters that were not told to us in detail in the bible are being featured here. People such as the Shepherds, St Joseph, King Herod, the wise men and even the innocent children who would be slaughtered by the hand of King Herod the Great.
"I thought why not write something that would be truthful to the story, while through music and video, still be culturally relevant," he explained.
Joslin released an EP album on December 11 on iTunes. The 4 songs that were featured on it were 'King of the Nations', 'There was no room', 'The Spirit song' and 'Noel...born is the King'. To accompany this release Joslin also released the music video/short film for the title track - 'King of the Nations'. You can visit the official page of the project at www.nativityconcert.com. The video is just a sneak peak of what the whole concert spectacle would be next year. It will debut in Dallas, TX, USA. From there it will grow into a national annual concert tour and hope to even perform the show internationally.
The project has already garnered a strong buzz online. Within only 4 days of its release, the official Facebook page of the project has reached more than 20,000 individuals and has been liked by hundreds of fans. First time visitors leave feedback and words like "awesome", "beautiful", "spectacular", "I cannot wait for the full album and live show".
Joslin, son of renowned musician and composer Apolinaris and Joyce D'Souza, hails from Valencia Mangalore, India. He was born in Muscat, Oman, where he did his education at Indian School, Muscat. While there, he also did his music education under the curriculum of the royal school of music, London. Joslin studied classical piano under various gifted teachers. He attributes his musical talent to the nurturing from his family from a very young age. "I was surrounded by music all the time. Dad conducted choirs and various functions around town. My brother played the piano while I watched and listened, Mum was the glue that held us all together and both parents inspired me to practice and perfect my art. I started playing and performing at the age of 6. First at church and then many competitions around town."
Joslin also has his own website. www.joslinmusic.com. He has released three solo albums in the last 5 years. Two of them were predominantly instrumental music. During the day, he writes and composes music for TV and film and also gives piano lessons privately to a handful of students in Dallas, TX. He has produced many independent artists along the way. Many of whom were featured in his Christmas project.
"This is only the beginning. I cannot wait to take this project on the road and perform it for everyone. For this and every Christmas season, let Him be born in us everyday."