Students display talent at Tarang’s fourth annual recital
How far the Tarang School of Music and Arts has come in a span of four years was evident at their fourth annual recital this summer. A packed auditorium at Berkmar High School was treated to creative and exciting music and performances.
Art students displayed talent and creativity in a competition a few hours before the show. Then teachers and students started the show with musical presentations, including Carnatic, Hindustani and western styles. Each had exciting vocal and instrumental renderings. The highlight was the Jugalbandi of Mridangam, Tabla and Drums.
A demonstration of music composed by Akshay Gopalakrishnan using computer software caught the interest of many. The creative aspect of the school’s approach to teaching music came across when students performed music in sync with video projections of popular movie and cartoon segments. It was an application of their talents to a professional situation that should boost their enthusiasm and confidence levels.
Atlanta businessperson Dr. Paddy Sharma was the chief guest of the program. She gave a short but very motivating speech in appreciation of the students’ talents and the efforts of their parents to educate them.
Next came the well-choreographed dances, colorfully presented to some popular Hindi songs, followed by an impressive karaoke segment. The talent and dedication of each performer made it more exciting than a typical karaoke performance.
Students then presented a couple of popular songs on instruments. The school’s teacher, Jose Thomas, gave the spellbound audience a peek into his abilities, playing several instruments such as guitar, keyboard and banjos. After some popular songs from Hindi and Tamil movies, children of all ages performed some well-choreographed dances.
The sense of accomplishment the students gained was evident throughout the program, which concluded with the school’s director, Sudha Gopalakrishnan, giving a vote of thanks, and students receiving trophies for their hard work in making the show a success.
A week later, Winfield Hall in Duluth was the site of the final segment of Tarang’s milestone show. After an opening speech by Sanjay Velappan, the school’s Student of the Year 2009, the music began with students of Carnatic music, as young as 4-year-olds.
A series of keyboard, guitar, and violin performances were followed by karaoke songs. When a father and son duo played the instrumental for the song “Papa kehte hain bada naam karega,’ the audience clapped along.
As a finale, students played the ‘Maa’ song from the movie Tare Zameen Par.
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