Encouraged by the response to its virtual concerts last year, the Music Academy has not only increased the duration and concerts, but also added lecture demonstrations for its 95th Annual Music Festival to be held between December 20 and 31.
“High-quality recording, better concert ambience and aesthetics have attracted a good response to the virtual music festival. We have teamed up with Shaale, one of the best platforms, for hosting the events and marketing. We are even sending personal emails to the fans who have opted for our concerts,” said N. Murali, president of the Academy.
The festival will be inaugurated by Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation (WHO), on December 20.
He said the recordings of vocal, instrument and harikatha performances were over, and currently, the dance performances were being recorded.
A good mix of senior and emerging musicians, including Sanjay Subramanian, Sudha Ragunathan, Gayathri Ventkaraghavan, Amrutha Venkatesh, Sandeep Narayan, Ramakrishna Murthy, Tiruchur Brothers and Saketharaman have recorded their concerts. A harikatha by Vishaka Hari has also been scheduled for the festival.
Lecture demonstrations
For the lecture demonstrations, the Academy has roped in writer and author Lalitharam to make a presentation on December 24 on late nagaswaram player Karukurichi P. Arunachalam, whose birth centenary is being celebrated.
Vocalist S. Sowmya will make a presentation on B. Rajam Iyer in connection with his birth centenary on December 28.
Another lecture demonstration is about late composer and singer Thanjavur Sankara Iyer. His students, including Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Nagai Muralidharan, Injikudi E.M. Subramanian and Dr. Sundar, would make a presentation.
Mr. Murali said rasikas could buy tickets for the entire 24 paid concerts or for individual concerts of their choice. A single concert will cost ₹350 for Indian citizens and $10 for rasikas from overseas.
“If a person opted for all the concerts, he would get four concerts free. The entire concert package would cost ₹7,000 for Indian citizens and $200 for fans from other countries,” he said.
The paid concerts could be watched within 48 hours after they were uploaded, while the concerts by juniors and sub-juniors are free and will be available permanently.
“Artists are also used to virtual performance and we hope our efforts would fulfil and satisfy the expectations of rasikas ,” he said. Junior and sub-junior concerts are free and can be viewed on the Academy’s YouTube channel on or after the date they are streamed.
The dance festival to be held between January 2 and 4 would feature only solo performances by well-known bharatanatyam dancers in view of the pandemic, Mr. Murali added.
