With the days nearing for the HARMONIC SURGE 2 happening in October 14-16, 2016, the organisers The Nagaland Chamber Choir brings interviews of the resource persons - Asin Shurhozelie: Voice and Performance; Louise Shishak: Violin; Mhathung Odyuo: Cello and wind instruments; and Noel De la Rosa: Piano and choir conducting.
Mhathung Odyuo
Mhathung Odyuo will be dealing with ‘Wind instruments’ which according to him is “rare” and we have only few people who play wind instruments. According to my observation, we haven't invested much of our time and money into these instruments, perhaps, due to the lack of trained musicians to teach. Within this one year after I came to Nagaland, I have found that there are many people who want to try and learn these instruments.
He says that there are lots of Wind instruments which can be introduced and initially, we can start out with the common ones ~ Flute, Bamboo Flute, Recorder, Saxophone and Clarinet.
Anyone interested in learning new instruments can join the workshop sessions. But preferably one who has some basic knowledge about standard music staff notation inorder to catch up with the lessons and learn fast, says Odyuo.
Through this workshop, he hopes there will be many willing to take up Wind instruments seriously and adds, “I am positive that within 3-4 years we will have Wind instrument players easily available for an enriching music experience.”
Louise Shishak
For Louise Shishak, the workshop sessions will begin with what makes a strong technical base, the essential skills for violinists to flourish, then explore group playing skills and the use of improvisation and harmony in a range of musical styles. “Though the focus will be in playing worship music, both contemporary and traditional, we will also explore some classical music,” says Louise.
With the hope that playing with others will be an inspiration to explore the beauty of the violin creating music at all levels, Shishak says that students’ already learning violin attending her sessions will be a wonderful way to develop musicianship and a whole range of skills.
Acknowledging that there is a growing availability of instruments and awareness of different musical styles, she states that many people recognize musicianship as a skill to be valued, music schools are flourishing. However for many of our string players who start playing late into their teens, to practice using the amount of repetition needed to establish a strong technique is a big challenge! There is more access to good teaching materials and music, but still limited availability of Western Classical Music.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is for us to create more opportunities for ensemble playing. Solo violins are indeed beautiful, but to play alongside others is also a great experience and opens up another world of music, she adds.
Another big challenge here is the availability of instruments. Purchasing violins, violas and cellos, and even bows and good quality strings, is a major hurdle I hope will change in the near future.
Nevertheless, she adds that Nagaland, now with 3 colleges offering music at degree level, is surely the place to be, both for developing Rock and Classical music skills.
The Nagaland players of the string family, versatile and used expressively in so many musical genres, hopefully will continue to grow.
Noel de la Rosa
For Noel de la Rosa, since he arrived in Nagaland last November 2013, he was rendered speechless and astounded by the natural giftedness of the Nagas and it led him to realize that he was sent here by God with one purpose and one purpose only - music education. He feels that Harmonic Surge is one venue or opportunities where he can reach out to more music enthusiasts and share them the wonderful world of music.
According to Rosa, despite great giftedness in music, only few Nagas really excel in it because like many other great talents who did not make it to the scions and icons of the musical world, they lack some very important aspect of this profession: “generosity, discipline and hard work.”
“The ones we admire so much amongst the Naga artists are the most generous, disciplined and hardworking and they know what it means to put their lives and whims at the back seat and priorities their art, no matter how difficult or sordid that maybe,” says Rosa.
During the workshop, he will be focusing on technique, concept of sound and musical understanding. A lot of us in the musical profession get stuck with making music to the perfection without really knowing that it involves a lot of technique, how understanding of great sound is achieved and why we need to understand the music first before we even talk about perfection, which is to be honest will never be achieved. I always tell my students: we may never achieve perfection but on the way towards achieving perfection you will happen upon excellence.
Asin Shürhozelie
In answer to a query whether Nagas are musically inclined and singing is flair, Asin Shürhozelie feels that Nagas are gifted in many ways and music is not an exception, more so because we have a huge influence of using folk tunes as a means of communication even in the olden times. However to be recognised at a certain level, music like any other field has to be harnessed and groomed with hard work and dedication.
On improving the grey areas, she says, “I think we can really improve when we have a deeper knowledge and understanding of why and what we are singing about. It starts with all the minute details right from the way we present ourselves, how we are able to translate the message and the lasting impact we create through it.”
Through the workshops she wants to enable individuals to identify unrecognized and unique areas of performance and express themselves and says, “I believe this will not only strengthen their performance but be able to relate better to their audience.”
