The Calcutta School of Music is currently hosting Crescendo XII 2023, which has 242 students participating across various categories. The preliminary rounds are over, and right now screening for the finals is going on. Participants in the preliminary rounds competed in various disciplines, including piano, violin, classical and non-classical guitar, drums, electronic keyboard and solo voice. The selection/screening for the finals aims to pin it down to five students per category. There will be five finalists for each category, and the finals will take place on July 22 and 23 in the presence of eminent judges from Nagaland and Shillong.
As far as the number of entries for each discipline with numerous categories is concerned, for this current edition of the music fest, the piano had 54, the violin 25, the classical guitar 25, the non-classical guitar 21, the drums 16, the electronic keyboard 17 and solo voice 84.
In the first round, the participants had to do the audio recording at the school. The judges evaluated their recordings by “following the notation of the pieces, the interpretation of the notations and on the basis of aural experience”. The recordings were only in an audio format. There was no scope for the participants being visible to the judges as the aim was to prevent subjecting. Their names were not made available to the judges either. Each candidate was only assigned a code.
A classical section (piano, violin and classical guitar) and a non-classical section (electronic keyboard and solo vocals) will feature in the finals on July 22 and 23 respectively. Non-classical guitar and drums will also feature on the second day of the finals. Performances on both days will be followed by a prize distribution ceremony. Performances will be judged live at the finals. The total number of finalists expected is 113, with the piano expecting 19, the violin 15, the classical guitar 15, the non-classical guitar 15, the drums 15, the electronic keyboard 14 and solo voice 20.
“The primary objective is to encourage students and raise the standards. Many students opt for private music teachers and their performance opportunities are limited as those teachers do not get to organise concerts and all. Plus, these teachers conduct classes without any target or goal. Crescendo has a certain goal for an aspiring kid of a certain age group who wants to enter the competition. It has been extended to people not only in Calcutta but also in the Far East and the Northeast. There have also been students competing and participating from places like Nagaland, Shillong etc. There is definitely a need for this kind of competition, and since The Calcutta School of Music is one institution in Calcutta which has good infrastructure, including its own building and auditorium, it is possible to organise something like this, particularly for Western music. The bigger objective is to organise events so that musicians get an opportunity to showcase their talents. Most importantly, the school does not collect any participation or registration fee from any students. The entire event is sponsored by The Calcutta School of Music,” said Jyotishka Dasgupta, president, The Calcutta School of Music. The first edition of this music fest happened in 2010.
