BRILLANTE! —THE NAGALAND PIANO FESTIVAL

Brillante! —The Nagaland Piano Festival will be held at RCEMPA, Jotsoma from September 28 to 30, 2017 with the heart to celebrate piano music, performance and education. Day sessions at the Nagaland Piano Festival will commence at 10:00 am and the Concerts are all scheduled for 5:00pm. [caption id="attachment_300643" align="alignleft" width="225"] Khyochano Ngully, director of The Nagaland Piano Festival[/caption] Over a course of three exciting days there will be high level performance demonstration and teaching through the resources; platform and forum provided for local teachers and students to explore deeper understanding of piano studies; opportunity for all upcoming deserving pianists to compete at a state level competition   The study of the Piano, as an instrument, can be regarded as one the most developed and progressed of classical musical study in Nagaland. With the development of society and the support for "soft skills" education, Nagaland’s pianists are an emerging workforce in the industry. There are more pianists in higher music education and professional occupation than any other instruments in Nagaland.   “Moreover, with Piano students accounting for at least 60% of the total enrolment body, I believe, we are poised to hold this festival and develop this area to a higher level. By doing so we encourage the next generation of pianists and provide a platform that has never been available in our State before,” said a press release issued by the organisers.   The concept and drive behind this festival is Khyochano Ngully, who is also the Festival Director. An educationist and a mentor to many musicians, she states that this festival is built with the future in mind where Nagaland can be a catalyst to building a thriving music community in the region. She is the Director of Music Acdemy Kohima and the local area representative of Trinity College London.   The competition round of the festival commenced with 80 video entries from pianists all over the state vying for a spot at the live auditions, which were downsized to 35 by external judges from the USA and the UK.   A total of 14 pianists were then selected by highly professional local judges (Sahu PEseyie, Ezono K John, Zingrin Shishak, Bethel Tsuzu & Khyochano Ngully) to represent the two categories of the competition (Category A - ages 8-14 and Category B - Ages 15 onwards); The semi finals round will be held on September 28 while the Finals will be held on September 30 where the winners will be announced.   Guest artists — Tatyana Dichenko, Russian Concert Pianist and Jazz Musician Pradyumna Manot Singh shall be performing and also conducting workshops along with local resource Nise Meruno, Concert Artiste and Yamaha Brand Ambassador, India. There will also be special appearances made by renowned local musicians and upcoming talents as well.   The Music Task Force Nagaland, Furtados India, YAMAHA India, De Oriental Grand, YouthNet, and Le Connect have agreed to support this festival as event and resource partners.