CHENNAI: Rasikas are surely going to cherish the musical treat that they are going to witness this month, as the Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru music and dance festival will be bringing all artistes from the city on to the same platform. Adding to the festive spirit and religious fervour, Lakshman Sruthi Musicals has roped in around 55 artistes, who will render their performances pitched to perfection.
The event, which is presenting its 10th season to music lovers will reach further heights of glory, as former president APJ Abdul Kalam will be inaugurating the fest, which will start off at the Kamarajar Arangam on December 18 at 5 pm. Led by Padmavibhushan PS Narayanaswamy, 500 musicians will sing the panchrathna kritis.
The inaugural day will also see the former president conferring the title Isai Azhwar and a gold medal to nadaswaram exponent Thiruvizha Jaishankar, who has performed in over 20,000 concerts globally — for his lifetime service to the field of art and for his continuous effort in sustaining traditional art forms.
This will be followed by a violin concert by Ganesh, Kumaresan at 7.30 pm. The eight-day celebration of art will have seven concerts each day, starting from 7 am to 10 pm. Bringing together 52 programmes from experienced and upcoming Carnatic, Hindustani musicians and classical dancers, the organisers claim that the event this month is going to be a completely different experience.
Chennail Thiruvaiyaru will be an ensemble of vocal, saxophone, veena, piano, harikatha artistes and bharathanatyam dancers, in addition to being an union of professional artistes and playback singers such as Karthik, Chinmayi and others.