The Score Magazine - Archive February 2009 issue! | Page 45

Conservatory Calendar
A
Leslie Lewis speaks in the premises
Lecture demonstrations at the
Conservatory
Hariharan with the students at KM
Conservatory. Photograph by Kalyan.
proud moment at KM Music
Conservatory on Jan 11 when
AR Rahman, our founder and
Principal wins the Golden
Globe for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ a British
movie and dedicates it to the nation. A
prelude to this great event was the Crit-
ic’s Award conferred on him on January
9 2009.
It was a matter of coincidence that Pal-
akkad Sriram – a well known Carnatic
musician and a popular play-back singer
who had lent his voice for ‘Slumdog Mil-
lionaire’ held a workshop for the stu-
dents’ on January 8 and spoke about
the high points of rhythm in composing
music and about the intricacies of taan
patterns. A session was arranged with
Kazz Boyle, the noted Hollywood com-
poser who spoke about incorporating
the dissect of the work footage of tem-
porary music from ‘The Incredible Hulk’
and the process of development and
transformation into its final version. This
rapid unfolding of the climatic moment
with the onset of the music was quite
an eye opener to the captivating effect
of the score that he blended. The stu-
dents were exposed to the finer points
of re-recording and its relevance to their
program. Kazz was in India at the invita-
tion of AR Rahman in connection with
his work for Aamir Khan’s Ghajini. Prior
to this Hariharan –the celebrated singer
who has a large Carnatic and Hindustani
repertoire, addressed the students on
‘Voice Culture’ and the do’s and don’ts
for a musician. One way to develop
resonance he pointed was to use the
‘Head Voice’ and to lead a consistent
life. A fascinating talk provided valuable
tips to exercise and warm up before the
concert.
Leslie Lewis, a close compatriot of Hari-
haran in the ‘Colonial Cousins’ provided
excellent tips on music and musicology.
He spoke about the importance of ob-
servation and exposure to good music.
An expert at jingles and a western mu-
sic performer, Leslie Lewis spoke about
credibility of a musician and also about
his future projects for a Tamil movie. A
Jazz Concert had been arranged on Oc-
tober 10, with Keith Peters on the bass
guitar, Jeora George on the drums and
Martin Visser on the saxophone. Keith
Jyoti Nair Belliappa
Peters also spoke about the advent of
Jazz and how it caught the imagina-
tion of the people in the Afro-American
states.
A Lec dem in Hindustani Classical was
held on October 24 by Shantanu Bhat-
tacharya and his wife Durba Bhattacha-
rya, both products of the ITC Sangeet
Research Academy, Calcutta and the dis-
ciples of the outstanding maestro of the
Patiala Gharana Pt Ajoy Chakravarthy.
The importance of right ‘Taalim’ was
highlighted through the tarana present-
ed by the six year old little Mitra, their
daughter who stole the show with her
tremendous performance. Selva Ganesh
– a Kanjira artiste par excellence gave a
solo performance in mid-october and
addressed questions raised by the stu-
dents in an interactive session.
On September 26, Rajesh Vaidya , a re-
nowned Veena artiste gave a recital ac-
companied by Mohan Ram on the Mri-
dangam, Chiranjeevi on the Tabla and
Subramanian on the Ghatam. An 18th
century composition was transposed
with western notes to everyone’s de-
light. A lecture replete with anecdotes
and a remix of Michael Jackson’s num-
ber and a tip on dedicated practice in
different avartans were the high points
of the session. Dr L. Subramanim the
inimitable composer and Violinist had
spearheaded the Lectures and given
the inaugural talk on the basics of Tala
structure and on the variables in Rhyth-
mic and Melodic Concerts and on the
innumerable possibilities that the tala
offers, being an unfathomable ocean,
where “ all experience is like an arch
whose margin fades forever and ever, as
we move.”
The KM Conservatory, a school of music
and technology, first of its kind in India
began on July 30 and after the orienta-
tion, the members of the faculty per-
formed in their different genres. Periodi-
cally, there were concerts by the faculty
and the students’ in both Western and
Indian vocal music. AR Rahman, offered
his comments and suggestions and gave
opportunity to a few to work with him
on ongoing projects.
KM offers overwhelming opportunities
both in the field of performance and
learning.