AN ANTHEM FOR AN ANTHEM
The day an Indian music academy held a virtual concert and became a cultural melting pot as an international group of musicians, both professional and beginners, learned and correctly played the Indian national anthem.
How did the concert come together?
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COUNTRIES
Participants from a number of countries like the USA, Austria, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Australia and, of course, India.
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THE PERFORMERS’ AGES
There were maestras, maestros and well-known performers, along with beginners, ranging from ages 5 to 80 years. It just goes to show, it’s never too soon or too late to learn a musical instrument!
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52 SECONDS
Did you know that most people play the Indian national anthem wrong? Composed in 1911 by Rabindranath Tagore, it was adopted two days before India’s first Republic Day in 1950. According to the Indian Constitution, the length of the Indian national anthem should be 52 seconds.
A STROKE OF GENIUS, A STROKE OF LUCK, AND THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT.
What happens when a brick and mortar music academy wants to develop an app to teach music anytime, anyplace? Well, they run a campaign in which they do just that. EFGH conceptualised a campaign for Lorraine Music Academy to inspire Indians and friends of India around the world to learn and play the Indian national anthem correctly. It would culminate in a special concert, the timing of which was nothing short of perfect - the eve of India’s 75th Independence Day, at the stroke of midnight. The concert was called ‘An Anthem for Jana Gana Mana’.
To prepare for this event a series of easy teaching videos were shot featuring Lorraine Aloysius, co-founder of Lorraine Music Academy, a trained concert pianist and teacher. The videos were uploaded onto an LMA microsite and available for anyone to register and access.
On 14th August 2022, in a one-hour virtual concert streamed at midnight on the eve of India’s 75th year of Independence, Indians, Indian diaspora and friends of India played the Indian national anthem from different corners of the world - USA, Austria, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Australia and of course from India. The instruments the anthem was played on were sitar, violin, cello, guitar, harmonium, grand piano and keyboard.
The performers were nothing short of stellar - accomplished musicians, professors and masters of performance, who have taken the stage at prestigious venues around the world. To name just a few - the Indian-born Maestra - Pianoforte, Dr. Marialena Fernandes, erstwhile student, and later, professor, at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. Sitar maestro Ustad Hidayat Khan, son of late Ustad Vilayat Khan. Maestra - Violin, India-born Deborah Gonsalves, and her husband, cellist Bertholt Hamburger, at La Coruna, Spain. Hungarian choir conductor, Gabriella Boda-Rechner and India’s very own country singer, Bobby Cash.
They were joined by LMA learners of all ages from around the world, ranging from a 5 year old keyboard enthusiast to an 80 years young retired colonel and army veteran who showed us that music can be learned at any age!
