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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Breaching musical frontiers
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Breaching musical frontiers

Experience Carnatic jazz, Bhakthi Symphony and a Carnatic Premier League at the Bharat Sangeet Utsav starting in Chennai on Friday

The 20/20 Carnatic Premier League pairs together young performers who will put up shorter and more interactive concerts of 20 minutes each. Premium
The 20/20 Carnatic Premier League pairs together young performers who will put up shorter and more interactive concerts of 20 minutes each.

Audiences in the city will be treated to the “20/20 Carnatic Premier League" at the 10th Bharat Sangeet Utsav, which is billed as a prelude to the music season in December. An offshoot of the festival, the 20/20 Carnatic Premier League pairs together young performers who will put up shorter and more interactive concerts of 20 minutes each.

“We try to do something new every year. I think the best part about this festival is that there is a lot of emphasis on bringing young talent into the limelight. They get to perform along with celebrities. Over the years, we have seen a lot of the youngsters who perform here in the afternoon going on to occupy the more coveted slots during the music season," says Carnatic vocalist K.N. Shashikiran, founder of Carnatica, which has organized the festival along with the 114-year-old Sri Partha Sarathy Swami Sabha.

The festival opens on Friday with a performance by M. Balamuralikrishna, who will work on a jugalbandi with Kaushiki Chakrabarty, a classical vocalist who trained under him in Carnatic music. This will be followed by a collaborative performance, titled Light On The Path, by the Dhananjayans, a family with aristocratic standing in the world of Bharatanatyam, with Carnatic vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan and Anil Srinivasan on the piano. Light On The Path will tour the US in the week following its premiere at the Bharat Sangeet Utsav.

Along with performances by reputed artistes such as Nithyasree Mahadevan, Aruna Sairam and P. Unnikrishnan, the festival will also present a dance musical of Kalki’s historical novel, Sivagamiyin Sabatham, by Madurai R. Muralidharan and his group.

“We want to give the audience in Chennai the opportunity to see performers that they won’t get to see the rest of the year. We have organized a few ‘combination concerts’ wherein two artistes, who won’t normally perform together, come on stage," says Shashikiran.

So, T.V. Gopalakrishnan will jam with George Brooks to produce an hour of Carnatic jazz. Similarly, Sudha Ragunathan will join hands with American percussionist Mark Stone for a “Bhakthi Symphony" while Carnatic vocalist O.S. Arun will perform a jugalbandi with flautist Ronu Majumdar.

In its attempt to recognize those musicians who need the support of the community, the organizers will honour five tanpura artistes from the city. The organizers will also honour the tradition of setting aside some seats for those rasikas (aesthetes) who cannot afford to pay to watch the concert. “Passes will be available for 25 and 50 at the venue on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of each performance," says Shashikiran.

The Bharat Sangeet Utsav will be held from 31 October-9 November, at Narada Gana Sabha, Alwarpet, Chennai. Timings vary. Tickets, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000, available on in.bookmyshow.com.

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Published: 30 Oct 2014, 03:15 PM IST
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