Chowdiah Memorial Hall needs no introduction. This memorial hall which is considered to be one of the most famous landmarks in the city was built in 1961 as a tribute to the renowned violinist late T Chowdiah. This academy was started by K K Murthy with support from art lovers, philanthropists, socialites and politicians. The cultural centre which is currently administered by Academy of Music aims to promote and encourage the Indian classical music, dance and theatre activities and also to nurture the talent among youth.
This academy being the hub for cultural activities hosts music festival every year during the month of November. Speaking about the same, R Subbaraj Urs, Secretary of Academy of Music, Chowdiah memorial hall said, “During this music festival, Sri K K Murthy Memorial awards are given to those who have rendered selfless service in the field of music. The awardees are honoured with the awards based on the popularity of the artiste, his scholarly hold on subject, number of programmes that he has rendered and also the audience response for his concerts.”
As one enters this violin-shaped auditorium, one can experience the reverberation of various notes and beats. The academy conducts over 25 programmes in a year. “Over 12 programmes are conducted in association with the other organisation which promote art and culture. These are conducted free of cost,” Subbaraj added.
The academy has recently started the music instrument museum. The highlight of this museum is the seven-stringed violin which belonged to late T Chowdiah. Subbaraj said, “Ever since the hall was constructed, our founder president K K Murthy had dreamt of acquiring the violin late T Chowdiah played. Today, this violin is kept on display during the music festival and also during some of the programmes organised by the academy.”
It is an honour for the artiste to perform in this auditorium as the auditorium is well equipped with overhead lights, light controller, digital sound mixer, amplifiers, and stage monitors. Besides, Chowdiah Memorial has the seating capacity
of 1,011.
Currently there are over 175 life members. Music classes for percussion instruments are also conducted twice in a week. The academy is also planning to introduce Bharatanatyam, vocal and other instrumental music classes shortly.
Speaking about the challenges faced, Subbaraj expressed, “Though we are conducting many programmes to support and nurture the young talent, the audience response is very poor.
Our culture is not getting any recognition. If audience attend programmes in large numbers, this would be an encouragement for us to conduct more programmes.”