"At my age, you need something to keep yourself occupied," he said. He enjoys taking the choir out to the local golf course to entertain the golfers. "They've sung out there in the wide-open spaces and the golfers stop and they're so thrilled to listen to the members of the choir."

"I've had a very satisfying last four years," said Nongkynrih. "And I don't care how little pay I get or how much I get. It's irrelevant."

Many of the members of the choir are teachers or students at the school. William Richmond Besaiawmout teaches English when he isn't studying at the university or traveling with the choir.

"I love helping out people who want to learn," he said. "And the students are so wonderful to teach."

The choir performed with the Soul Sounds choir of Sri Lanka at the Forbidden City Concert Hall before heading to a concert in Shanghai. The next stop is Korea for the World Choir Championships. The group is looking forward to performing with many of the world's best choirs, but described preparations for it as "nerve-wracking."

"That's why we don't want to think of it too much as a competition," said Nongkynrih. "It would be nice to win a medal, of course, but music should be a celebration of one another's conscience."

Even though his father isn't performing, the event is weighing on him too.

"I think I'm more nervous than they are," he said, pointing at the choir.

The World Choir Championships begin July 7 in the province of Gyeongnam in South Korea.