The Melharmony Foundation’s second annual Midwest Melharmony Festival on November 15, 2014, held at the Oregon Performing Arts Center in Wisconsin, USA featured a unique melding of two immortal contemporaries from two contrasting cultures – Tyagaraja (1767-1847) & Mozart (1756-91). While it is well known to aficionados of Indian and Western Classical that both Tyagaraja and Mozart composed hundreds of pieces and were among the most influential composers in their respective systems of music, this festival provided a study in contrast between the developments in melody in the East around the same time that harmony took great strides in the West.
The festival also included scholarly discussions on Tyagaraja and Mozart, performances of their works by professional ensembles, competitions as well as short recital opportunities for students. A special highlight was the Tyagaraja composition Shara shara shamarai (in raga Kuntalavarali) performed by students of the Oregon School Orchestra. Another highlight was the masterpiece, Paramatmudu (Vagadheeshwari) presented by Madison Bach Musician’s String Quartet. Both were melharmonically arranged by Chitravina N Ravikiran, who was the first to introduce Indian classical music to USA Schools through his orchestral works.
Ravikiran performed in the ensemble, ta-ki-Ta Trio with 4-time Grammy winner Glen Velez (www.glenvelez.com) and rhythm-vocalist Loire Cotler who were augmented by guest artistes – Tarun Bhattacharya on the 100 stringed Santoor and Hindole Majumdar on Tabla.
Maestro John DeMain, Conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra presided over the event, which drew hundreds of listeners from Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis as well as from other parts of USA including San Diego.
The inaugural edition of the Midwest Melharmony Festival was held in Nov 2013, featuring two great composers of slightly earlier period – Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi (1700-65) and J S Bach (1685-1750). The next year’s edition is likely to feature Muttuswami Dikshitar and Beethoven.
