Dear Music Lovers,
"Sogasuga mridanga Talamu" was the theme of the 32 Annual Thyagaraja Utsavam, held April 24,25,& 26, 2009 at the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Texas. Of the three "Bhava, Raga and Taala" components of music, knowledge of the intricacies of "Laya' is usually lower among general audiences. An effort to learn more about this important component of music underscored this year's choice of artistic director, Sri Trichy Sankaran, who is not only a great performing artist but also an academic at the York University at Toronto, Canada. Sri Trichy Sankaran was more than pleased to be able to present the festival with a focus on 'Laya' and chose the theme title "Sogusuga Mridanga Taalamu". Under his direction the festival theme was interwoven into the various segments.
Nisha Rajagopalan's concert on Friday April 24 was a good start for the Utsavam and was well received. It was well attended despite the inclement weather. On Saturday April 25, the festivities started with the traditional Unchavriti. The visiting artist Sri Trichy Ramesh led the procession of the usual Houston devotees, as Saint Thyagaraja singing the Unchavriti kritis. The accompaniment of Prof. Trichy Sankaran on the Kanjira and the featured vocalist Sri Madurai Sundar gave the processional music a tremendous boost and a stamp of authenticity. The Pancharathna rendition followed, led by the visiting artists, Sri Madurai Sundar, Sri Trichy Ramesh and our own Smt.Rajeshwary Bhat, joined by Prof. Trichy Sankaran on the mridangam.
Following the welcome remarks by the Classical Arts founders and the MTS chairman, Sri Sankaran gave an excellent Utsavam overview, inaugurated the new website of the Classical Arts Society and introduced Sri Madurai Sundar who presented a well researched and outstanding lec dem on compositions by the Trinity of carnatic music.
The local vocal groups coordinated by Anuradha Subramaniam and Asha Bhakthavatsalam presented songs on Sri Narada andRaja Margam as their respective themes.
The post lunch session comprised of the individual segment participation on two stages simultaneously to accommodate the overwhelming response for this segment.
The evening concerts began with Trichy Ramesh's fast paced concert followed by the doyen violinist Sri V.V. Subramanyam's melodious concert that evoked nostalgic memories among several in the audience of yesteryear concerts by stalwarts such as Chowdaiyya with Palghat Mani Iyer and such.
Sunday April 26 morning, audience were greeted by the local instrumental group "Rasikapriya" who presented well synchronized kritis. This was followed by erudite presentations by Dr Koontz on "Rhythm in Painting" and Prof Trichy Sankaran on"Rhythm from World Music Perspective". Each of these lec dems evoked participation by the audience through the Q & A Session which was lively.
Following this was a vigorous presentation of "Tala Vadhya Kutchery"---an ensemble of percussion instruments.
The afternoon individual segment participation was preceded by the two other local vocal groups coordinated by Chitra Dharmarajan (theme Eka Kriti Ragas) and Rajeshwary Bhat (theme: Sogasuga Mridanga Talamu).
The festival ended with the grand finale concert by Madurai Sundar which was well received. The attendees were treated to a sumptuous dinner on all three evenings catered by local restaurant.
Those who attended the festival were able to take with them some aspect of rhythm related knowledge that they had gained. The role of Artistic Director was well received and appreciated by many.
Your feedback about the Utsavam, any new ideas and suggestions for improvement are welcome. Please contact us at tyag2009houston@gmail.com
If you are interested in volunteering for next year, please send us an email indicating the area where you would like to volunteer and provide your contact information.
Please be in touch with our website http://classicalartssocietyhouston.org as we update it from time to time.
Sincerely,
Classical Arts Society
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