This was a concert, with a concert inside it. A concert that starred children in parts. And a concert where rasikas could join, lip sync or sing heartily.
As is his wont, pianist Anil Srinivasan treated the Nov.3 evening concert of the annual Bharat Sangeet Utsav now on at the main auditorium of Narada Gana Sabha, as a community-immersive event.
The concert marked 20 years of a collaboration in music between Anil and vocalist Sikkil C. Gurucharan.
The evening began with one song performed by some 20-plus junior students on the main stage – they and many many others attend a music education programme that Gurucharan mentors and Anil’s Rhapsody Foundation has promoted for many years.
In the middle of the main concert which also starred mridangam vidwan K V Prasad and his son, percussionist Krishna Kishor and mandolin artiste Vishwas Hari, the focus was back on three sets of students who were seated across the auditorium. Gurucharan gave them the lead – a popular Bharathiyar song and the hall resounded to raw voices, with rasikas adding the frills to it.
It is the interactive feature of most Anil-Gurucharan concerts which bring their concerts alive, some banter on stage, some laughs in the audience and some flourishes by the artistes.
This evening, students of three school students’ groups were featured – including teams from Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya and P. S. Senior schools.
