Most 12-year-olds would spend their Dasara holidays in festivities and merrymaking, but not Bengaluru girl Nilanjanaa Jayanth. This little rockstar is going to be making history at one of the most prestigious music stages in the world, Carnegie Hall in New York, this October.
MetroPlus catches up with Nilanjanaa to trace her musical journey. A visibly excited Nilanjanaa says it is a great honour to be performing in Carnegie Hall. “It is a dream come true to stand on the same stage as so many music legends.”
The daughter of city-based IT professional Jayanth Ananthakrishnan and designer Sangeeta Ananth, Nilanjanaa is heading to the venue as the result of winning the American Fine Arts Festival’s international vocal competition ‘Golden Voices of America’ 2016. The youngster sent in her rendition of Frank Sinatra’s hit number ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ as the entry for the Musical Theatre, Disney, Broadway and Jazz category and bagged top honours for her vocal proficiency. Nilanjanaa has also been invited for a special performance at the Robert Schumann Museum in Zwickau, Germany in 2017 as well as awarded a scholarship for the AFAF Summer Music Course in Europe for 2017.
Nilanjanaa owes her success to her training at Taaqademy, the music school of Bengaluru Rock band Thermal And A Quarter, with special credit to her vocal teacher and bass guitarist Ragini Ramanathan, who also received a Diploma of Recognition for her achievement in training Nilanjanaa for the competition.
Nilanjanaa recalls that her reaction on hearing the news of her achievement was both surprising and euphoric. “It was easily one of the best days of my life. I couldn’t believe it. We just gave it a go and sent in our entry. We didn’t really expect the award since there were so many entries from across the world. It was an unforgettable moment when we heard I won!”
She adds that she is happy to make her parents and faculty at Taaqademy proud, especially for the support they gave her. “Ever since I was six, I’ve wanted to be a singer. I started with classical music but found my calling in Western music. “It was only a matter of time before I wanted to take up vocal classes and joined Taaqademy two-and-a-half years ago. After that there was no looking back.”
Nilanjanaa got into a performance streak with her five-piece band from Taaqademy called Sandstorm. Her favourite genres, she says are jazz and soul. With favourites like Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra among others as her inspirations, she has a promising future. “I hope people enjoy my performance and take back happy memories of the song when I sing at Carnegie Hall.
A student of eight grade at The Samhita Academy on Bannerghatta Road, Nilanjanaa says she manages to strike a balance juggling school, homework, family time and music. “It’s easy when I stick to my routine. I make the most of my free time for vocal training.”
Her vocal teacher Ragini Ramanathan recalls that it’s been amazing to teach her the last two-and-a-half years. “Nilanjanaa has a lot of potential and actually made my job easy. Her pitching is really good and she has a really strong voice. She’s very hard-working. It’s amazing to see how much she’s grown. Among all my students, she’s the one with the most control.” On her global impact, Ragini adds that they, frankly, didn’t set their hopes too high. “We just thought let’s give it a shot and see what happens. And wow! She won! I had a lot of faith in her. But this was on a global level and we were pleasantly shocked. Nilanjanaa has barely scratched the surface though. She’s going to go further than this.”
Co-founder of Taaqademy and frontman of TAAQ, Bruce Lee Mani, points out that what’s really cool about this is that people usually get to perform at Carnegie Hall at the pinnacle of a long career. “But Nilanjanaa is starting her career there. It’s an awesome opportunity for her. It’s also a reality check for all of us. That it’s possible. Now it’s all about taking it to the next level for her and for all of us.” He adds that the next five-six years are going to define her future. “If things go well for her, it’s possible that it’s the launch of a meaningful and artistic career for her.”
