And it’s not all indie rock. Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth, or SPICMACAY, is a student group offering a glimpse of one of the most underrepresented genres of music: Indian classical music. On Sunday, they present “Avyakta,” a free concert featuring the instrumental sounds of Indian classical music.
Some students cite their reluctance to embrace foreign music to language barriers.
“Something is lost when listeners can’t understand the lyrics,” said Lauren Schlueter, a first-year music student specializing in voice. It is only natural for listeners to seek the story in the music they encounter, stories which are usually conveniently expressed through lyrics.
“There are some songs when you can figure out the meaning without understanding the words,” Schlueter said. Fortunately, the language of instruments is universally understood. “The instruments convey the essence of the song,” she said.
All it takes to convey a story is an instrument, a skilled composer and a masterful performer, all of which will shine in “Avyakta.” The instrument is the chitravina, an instrument indigenous to the south of India. The composer and performer is N. Ravikiran, a renowned musician. In addition to the story of the music, there is a story behind Indian classical music, said Shantha Vedantam, the president of UCLA’s SPICMACAY chapter.
“According to Indian values, the classical performing arts are regarded as a form of worship and a path for spiritual liberation,” she said.
Ravikiran is a master of the chitravina, a claim corroborated by Vedantam’s statement that Ravikiran’s name is “synonymous with the instrument.” Ravikiran was able to identify and produce 325 melodic scales and 175 rhythmic cycles by the age of 2. He has even been called the “Indian Mozart” due to his accomplishments on the chitravina.
“A maestro could be equated to a mystic who can impart an inexplicable bliss and peace to the listener through his or her music that is beyond the musical sensibilities of mind,” said Vedantam.
While the headliner of this performance is Ravikiran, his fellow performers are also accomplished. Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi and Nirmal Narayan will accompany Ravikiran on the violin and percussion, respectively. Subhalakshmi was a child prodigy, who began giving violin solos at the age of 8. Aside from being an expert violinist, Subhalakshmi is also an accomplished vocalist. Narayan plays the mridangam, a percussion instrument. His skill has allowed him to play at venues all over India.
“Avyakta” is the second concert presented by SPICMACAY this academic year. The first, which took place in the fall, was a vocal concert presented in the Hindustani, or Northern Indian, classical tradition, while the upcoming concert follows the Carnatic, or Southern Indian, classical tradition.
SPICMACAY has produced nine concerts since beginning in 2003. Recently the group has begun providing “lec-dems,” or lecture demonstrations, that precede each concert, in which the performers and the audience get to interact.
“(It) is the most beneficial format where the artist and the audience build up some rapport prior to the performance,” Vendantam said.
Since SPICMACAY attracts different performers each time, no two performances will be the same and improvisations are common in Carnatic concerts.Regular improvisation is a unique quality of the Carnatic tradition. This characteristic excites Nishanth Chandran, a UCLA graduate student in engineering and an accomplished violinist.
“The improvisational aspect of Indian classical music is mastered when one is able to turn inward and explore melodic “˜raagas’ with single-minded focus and attention,” Vedantam said.
Realizing that the sheer volume of experiences presented in this concert may be overwhelming or intimidating, Vedantam continued, “Thus, whether it is exposure to a new art form, or awareness to new aesthetics of presentation or experience of the musical bliss, everyone will have something to take away from this concert experience.”