A harpy evening
Five musicians will come together from different parts of the world for a western classical concert put together by the TCPA today.
There will be harp, flute and piano and two child prodigies. At a western classical concert put together by the Trivandrum Centre for Performing Arts (TCPA) in the capital, five musicians will come together from different parts of the world to perform today. It will be a mix of baroque, classical, romantic, a bit of jazz and some transcribed music of India.
"We have been putting together programmes to promote the less-promoted art forms for a while now. A programme happens every two weeks," says Satish Kammath, programme director, TCPA. Last time, there was an English play, and now, the western concert.
François Dériaz, Swiss flautist, Fiona Hestern, English harpist, Mathew Jasper, pianist from Thiruvananthapuram will perform with two child prodigies coming from the same family — siblings Lydian Nadaswaram and Amirthavarshini.
Lydian started playing drums at the age of three, and earned a scholarship at the AR Rahman's KM Music conservatory. At age seven, he won the best young drummer award at the South Asian Talent Contest organised by Pragyaan in 2013. He then began playing the piano at the age of nine and was recognised by TEDxGateway as the youngest piano prodigy in India. At 10, he became the youngest pianist to perform at the NCPA in Mumbai. He was featured in the US television channel NBC. He also plays other instruments including Indian percussion, the guitar, the harmonica, and so on.
Amrithavarshini, Lydian's elder sister, is 14, and like him, plays several musical instruments — bamboo flute, western orchestral key flute, piano, violin etc. She is also a singer, and a music composer. She is the only flautist in India's second largest western classical orchestra, Madras Musical Association (MMA), where she has also performed as a soloist in flute concertos and quartets.
François Dériaz, who completed his basic music training at the Geneva School of Music, came to Kerala in 1976 as Chief Project Adviser of the Indo Swiss Project Kerala for Cattle Breeding, Fodder Production and Milk Marketing. He met people devoted to western music and associated with the Trivandrum Choristers Association, singing, conducting, proposing new music etc. His assignment in India was over by end of 1980, but he'd keep visiting Kerala several times - his wife is from Thiruvananthapuram. He is performing in the capital city after 22 years.
Fiona Hestern, a harpist from Cardiff, England, brought her harp along to India, where she has spent most of this year. Mathew Jasper is a final year medical student and is making his formal debut as an accompanist as well as soloist on the piano. The concert will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn on Sunday, September 10, at 6.30 pm