21 Jun 2018  |   06:15am IST

Goans, thank you for the music

Goa is a melting pot of cultures, with music playing an important role in defining these cultures as well as amalgamating them into something that is essentially Goan. On the occasion of World Music Day, Café studies Goa’s music scene and the public’s reaction to it

To celebrate World Music Day, which is today, June 21, 2018, Ravindra Bhavan Margao in association with Rise Nation Army and Musica Guru, will be organising a workshop for musically inclined students ‘Be Original-Be a Creator’ today, from 9:30am to 4:30pm.The faculty will be led by MTV artists Varun Carvalho, singer Irina Blansh, music composer Mukesh Ghatwal and multi instrumentalist Rocky Lazarus together with the Rise Nation Excellence Academy, who will guide and mentor the students in the nuances of original song writing. This workshop is unique and is a good opportunity for musically inclined students to learn and interact with the highly acclaimed faculty and grow as musicians.

“The main aim of the music masterclass is to ignite the creative spark in the budding musicians so that they can create their own music and write their own songs. The faculty will guide the students through the process of song writing and inspire them to create their own tunes. We will have more than 300 budding musicians from 30 schools across Goa who will attend the music masterclass,” informs Varun.

Speaking about the acceptance of various genres in Goa, he says, “I think Goa has a good audience but we need to build platforms for artistes to perform so that the Goan audience is exposed to different genres of music, especially original music. It’s upto the musicians and music promoters to offer them something different.”

Jazz plays an important part on Goa’s music scene as this tiny state has created quite a few jazz musicians who have contributed a fair share to the growth of the jazz culture in India. Taking the love of jazz forward among the young generation in Goa is Colin D’Cruz, a man who founded Jazz Goa in 2004.

Jazz Goa is the only organisation in India that has hosted International Jazz Day right from its inception by the UNESCO in 2011 on April 30. Besides the several concerts that are held throughout the year, this is one special concert.

Another annual earmarked music festival of the calendar is the blend of Western and Indian classical music, Monte Music Festival. Fundação Oriente has organised 16 editions of Monte Music Festival, which is held annually in the first week of February. The festival has the beautiful backdrop of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount, Old Goa, and the voices that charm the audience at the festival.

One aspect of traditional Goan music that can’t be left behind is the sweet melody of the Mando with the upbeat tempo of the Dulpod. Accompanied by the smooth sound of the violin and the thumps on the ghumott, the All Goa State Level Mando Festival has been organised by the Goa Cultural and Social Centre for the last 51 years. Held in December every year, thefestival has a number of categories that attract different sections of society, in different arrangements.

Konkani music has evolved over the years, from folk songs to the music videos and songs on the internet. Antruz Ghudyo, a young cultural group from Ponda, led by Gautami Hede Bambolkar, conceptualised the program ‘Chavar’ in association with Ravindra Bhavan, Margao and held its first program on Goa Statehood day this year. The program will be a glimpse into the musical journey of Konkani music through songs and dance, right from folk songs and music, Mumbai Akashwani Kendr music, cantaram, bal gitam, abhangas, patriotic songs, and songs from Konkani albums.

“The first show of ‘Chavar’ was a grand success. The medley of all the folk songs was well appreciated by the audience. The people shared nice reviews about the program and told us that this show should be organised in each and every part of Goa and outside Goa. We decided to do our next show at Curchorem on World Music Day,” says Gautami, also a noted singer. The concert will be held today at Ravindra Bhavan, Curchorem at 7pm.

Herald Group’s ‘Goencho Avaz’ is also back with its fifth edition. The all Goa solo and duet Konkani singing competition has helped catapult the careers of many Goan singers. Entries are open for participants in the age group of 15 to 25 years and only one entry in each category will be allowed. The participant can sing any of the pre 1990 Konkani songs popularised by All India Radio for the preliminaries, which will be held on June 30 at QMC hall, Quepem; July 1, at Black Box, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao; July 7 at Directorate of Art and Culture, Patto, Panjim; July 8, at Church hall, Ponda and on July 13, at Ravindra Bhavan, Vasco. All auditions will be from 2:30pm onwards.

Being a tourist destination, the state has many visiting musicians who enjoy their holidays while singing for the Goan audience. There are also musicians who come down to Goa especially to impart their knowledge and experience to budding Goan musicians.