The Score Magazine March 2019 | Page 42

SNEHA RAMESH The Pianist by Casio India- Grand Finale: An aftermath “It’s wonderful to have a platform to highlight all kinds of music across Tamil Nadu. They come from surprising places and we need to support them as there is so much wonderful music making happening with these kids. It’s important to encourage them and make sure they don’t stop and cherish the music” added Adam Greig. After three successful editions of The Pianist organized by Casio India Co. Pvt. Ltd, this year saw a phenomenal response in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Edition. We were truly amazed to see the talent pool in different regions of the state. The regions covered this year included Trichy, Salem, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai. The grand finale was held in Chennai, judged by three remarkable musicians: Anil Srinivasan, Augustine Paul & Adam Greig. “Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege of traveling across Tamil Nadu in seven cities and listen to some of the most talented youngsters playing the Piano today. They come from a variety of backgrounds and abilities. It has been a learning for me too.” said Anil Srinivasan. Palak Chauhan 40 The Isaac Watts Score Magazine highonscore.com “It is a pleasure to listen to little children playing such beautiful music and to take into consideration that most of them are from districts and not cities. A good thing that is happening now is that when keyboard is thrown to children, they start meddling with it and end up playing. When you talk about Piano, it is not easy and for middle income groups in Tamil Nadu, it’s not easy to afford and maintain a Piano. This digital Piano is a great substitute. Casio has popularized this and it’s a great stepping stone for kids. It’s amazing that Casio has created a product in between a keyboard and a Piano.” concluded by Augustine Paul 35 participants battled it out at the grand finale to fit into three categories: Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced. It was a tough competition but the judges had to select six winners in total. The winners were: Advanced Category: Aaron Alex Abraham from Coonoor: Winner Tavan Shah from Chennai: Runner Up Intermediate Category: M. Immanuel from Chennai: Winner Akshara Senthil from Chennai: Runner Up Akshara Senthil