April 2020 ON Stagevolume 9 • issue 9 The SOI A Small Family Business Academy Orchestra A drawing room play unlike any Mudra Dance Festival A blossoming ensemble Showcasing iconic choreographies Cover Final.indd 1 17/03/20 12:27 PM NCPA Chairman Khushroo N. Suntook Editorial Director Radhakrishnan Nair Editor Snigdha Hasan tets(Please note that due to the spread of Coronavirus, all programmes are subject to change. Consulting Editor Please check our website and emails for updated information. ) Vipasha Aloukik Pai Editorial Co-ordinator Hilda Darukhanawalla Art Director Tanvi Shah Associate Art Director Hemali Limbachiya Advertising Anita Maria Pancras ([email protected]; 66223835) Tulsi Bavishi ([email protected]; 9833116584) Senior Digital Manager Jayesh V. Salvi Produced by Editorial Oce 4th Floor, Todi Building, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, 13 Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400013 Printer Features Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas Mill Compound, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013 of the resounding success of the SOI’s Materials in ON Stage cannot be reproduced in recent tour to Delhi and Bengaluru. part or whole without the written permission 08 Reections of the publisher. Views and opinions expressed Musical memories. By Anil Dharker in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. All rights reserved. 16 Grand Harmonies NCPA Booking Oce The SOI Spring 2020 Season featured 2282 4567/6654 8135/6622 3724 10 the heart of the classical repertoire in A Sound Footing www.ncpamumbai.com the music of Mozart and Beethoven, the In the founding of the SOI Music festivity of theatre musicals, the Indian Academy, the NCPA made an unparalleled premiere of a concerto that calls for contribution towards shaping future communal harmony and a stellar roster of musicians in the Western classical tradition. world-class musicians. Its upcoming concert is testimony to eight years of concerted eorts that have begun to bear fruit. 21 How Not to Pickle Composers The Resident Conductor of the 13 Symphony Orchestra of India, Mikel Going Places Toms, takes a moment out of rehearsals Standing ovations, encores and a growing to consider the point of it all, as he asks realisation of the hunger for Western and answers an important question: classical music in the country were all part why do we rehearse at all? Contents.indd 4 18/03/20 2:20 PM 22 On a High Note Choirs from around India will converge at the rst edition of the India World Choral Festival (IWCF) for an intriguing line-up of concerts, workshops and lectures. By Beverly Pereira 24 Seminal Moves As prominent artistes of various classical dance forms prepare to present much-loved choreographies by veritable 32 masters at this year’s edition of the NCPA Mudra Dance Festival, two-part series, eminent we nd out what the word public intellectual Jawhar Sircar ‘iconic’ means to them when it takes a look at the evolution of 24 comes to choreography. ancient Indian dance forms that By Sunayana Mohanty accentuated classical traditions while also reconditioning them 28 for modern India. Ignited Minds A student production based on Gulzar’s Hindustani translation 41 Performing Arts: of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s Stand-up Comedy autobiography brings the Comedian and writer Anuvab former President and visionary’s Pal chronicles the journey of his inspiring life to stage. show on the British Empire, from By Snigdha Hasan the NCPA to the BBC. 32 46 Family Matters Kaleidoscope Akarsh Khurana’s adaptation Your window to the latest in the of British playwright Alan performing arts across India and Ayckbourn’s acclaimed work, the world. A Small Family Business, builds a universe of its own with Goan and Punjabi characters, a 48 posh Delhi setting and topical Archives: The Keen Observer references. By Krutika Behrawala In the second instalment of a three-part story, Vijay Tendulkar discusses performances that forced him to re-examine his 36 belief in what was possible to The Multicultural Jazz Man achieve on stage. Jazz pianist and composer Dan Costa has received much Follow us on: critical acclaim for his musical 50 sensibilities and his ability to facebook.com/NCPAMumbai Programme Guide be cohesive and eclectic in A guide to all the events equal measure. By Anurag Tagat @NCPAMumbai happening at the NCPA in April. @NCPAMumbai 38 58 youtube.com/user/TheNCPAMumbai1 How Modern India What’s Next Reinvented Classical Dance What to expect in the following We look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Please do drop us an In the rst part of a months. email at [email protected]. Contents.indd 6 18/03/20 12:14 PM THEY CALL HIM MUD CONCERT 10 • April 2020 NCPA SOI Music academy.indd 10 17/03/20 11:55 AM A Sound Footing In the founding of the SOI Music Academy, the NCPA made an unparalleled contribution towards shaping future musicians in the Western classical tradition. Its upcoming concert is testimony to eight years of concerted eorts that have begun to bear fruit. n 2006, when the NCPA Chairman Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook and violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev founded the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), the country’s first and only professional orchestra,I it paved the way for another first. With no conservatories or dedicated schools of Western classical music in India, how was the orchestra to have a fair representation of local musicians in the long run? “Give me eight years and I will bring the Indians in,” said Bisengaliev and the next logical step followed. The SOI Music Academy (formerly the NCPA Special Music Training Programme) was founded in 2012 with an aim to develop the musical potential of young talent in India. Just as having no precedent was Young musicians of the not allowed to become a stumbling block to the SOI Academy Orchestra with Marat Bisengaliev quality of orchestral playing by the SOI, care was taken to do everything right with the SOI Music Academy, too. NCPA April 2020 • 11 SOI Music academy.indd 11 17/03/20 11:56 AM throughout the intensive programme, which includes substantial one-on-one lessons for the student’s primary instrument as well as second-study piano lessons, music history, music theory, group-singing teaching via the Solfeggio method, along with training in orchestral playing and chamber music. While a platform to perform before an audience has obvious rewards for the students, what lies in store for connoisseurs of Western classical music, otherwise accustomed to concerts by “Organising such a concert is an maestros at the NCPA, when they come for student concerts? opportunity for me and my team to show “Organising such a concert is an opportunity for me and my team to our vision of music education without show our vision of music education without compromising on quality, compromising on quality” so attending the students’ concert should give the same enjoyment TRADITIONAL TRAINING as listening to the professional orchestra. Of course, Under the expertise of Bisengaliev, and rigorous training our students cannot produce the same depth of the by several musicians from the orchestra who serve as full range of instruments in the SOI, but the technical faculty members in the academy, students have been and musical aspect is always the top priority and I can receiving holistic music education inspired by the assure the audience that the demand on the quality of Russian Conservatoire method. With five graduating the performance is as high as it is for our professional students this year, top honours across three categories musicians,” shares Bisengaliev. at a recent international music competition and two When asked about how he sees the progress of international concerts in 2018, the academy has begun students over the last eight years, he replies, “The to come into its own. progress is for anyone to see during the concert. I’ll Academic rigour aside, performance opportunities leave it to the audience to judge as the proof of the remain integral to the programme; the annual concert in progress lies in the performance.” April, presented by the SOI Academy Orchestra under the baton of Bisengaliev, being a highlight. With over PRECIOUS OPPORTUNITIES 25 students performing this year, some of whom have The thrill of a concert aside, coming to an organisation been selected to play as soloists with the SOI, rehearsals where classical music flows through its rehearsal are on in full swing, where teachers take students rooms is an experience in itself, considering one through the nuances of playing collectively. “You must might just find Maria João Pires chiselling away at a listen to each other and learn to join in intuitively,” Beethoven sonata in the Little Theatre, all by herself. Bisengaliev instructs the violinists, as another teacher The metaphor turned only too real recently when the helps the flautist get a tune right. “What you played was legendary pianist was at the NCPA for the SOI’s Spring technically correct, but it needs more soul. Let’s give it 2020 Season. Recitals and concerts aside, she found another try,” he encourages the timpanist. time to meet starry-eyed students of the academy for “The repertoire has been chosen through endless whom memories of the encounter are unlikely to fade discussions with the teachers and specially arranged away anytime soon. to suit every pupil’s capability, and of course, make Bisengaliev sums it up aptly when he talks about sure that they enjoy performing that music,” says the academy’s contribution to the strengthening of Bisengaliev about the programme for the evening, the Western classical music tradition in India. “I feel which includes Air by Karl Jenkins, the theme from that the academy will be an everlasting legacy of Pirates of the Caribbean, Statue of Lully and Clap Your our chairman Khushroo Suntook, and our team of Hands.