New Delhi: When talent, passion, big dreams and extreme hard work come together and are presented on stage, the result can only be electrifying and eye-catching particularly when the performers are children, students of a school for formal learning in music 
and theatre.
The Iris Summer Music Fest 2015 marking a decade of Aria Music and Theatre Conservatory, an institution unique in discovering new musical talent, concluded here with a Battle Bands that brought forth fresh talent in the field of entertainment.
The MusicFest and the Conservatory – founded in May 2005 – are the brainchild of Hitesh Madan, founder member, vocalist and guitarist of Eka (ex-Euphoria lead guitarist) and Payal Sharma Madan who have churned out hundreds of students who have gone on to earn name and fame for themselves. Hitesh is vocalist and guitarist with Eka and a former lead guitarist of Euphoria.
In the tenth birthday event held on 19 and 20 July at the Azad Bhavan (ICCR Auditorium, Indraprastha Estate), an eminent jury gave awards in junior and senior categories to Best Bassist – Simran Chawla, Pranav Talwar and Naman Singh, Best Drummer – Angad Rai Batra, Yuva Kataria, Advay Madan, Abin Johnny and Gautam Gosain, Best Western Vocalist- Ariv Madan and Keshav Arora, Best Indian Vocalist – Ishpreet Singh, Krittika Bhatia, Shatakshi Bhargava and Abhishek Negi; and Best Keyboardist Melvin Philip and Nigel Joe Harris.
Judges Benjamine Pinto and Lokesh Madan from the band EKA had shortlisted 16 Performances (as against the planned five) as finalists for the finale on 20 July. The Battle covered a wide range of songs (metal, classic rock, Sufi, Bollywood and pop rock). Participants across all departments had ardently worked towards this competition, some being as young as 6 years of age!
Those present at the award ceremony included Subir Malik, founder member of India’s leading band Parikrama, George Pulinkala who founded the Delhi Music Theatre and pioneered musical theatre productions in Delhi, and Andrew Hoffland who is a noted actor/theatre personality. Apart from this, many musicians from eminent Bands and Principals of Schools were present.
The special guest was Vasundhara Vee, an eminent singer who gave an impromptu performance joining Hitesh and the teachers on stage to jam on “Halleluiah” and she went on and on, moving into blues with vocals that blew everyone’s mind off! The audience kept shouting for more, she was just so gorgeous and inspiring. Payal also accompanied Hitesh for some musical numbers.
But the major highlight of the two-day event was staging of “Mnjini The Musical”. Based on an original story by Rita Dutta Gupta, the script, stageplay and direction is by Payal. The cast of 13 budding actors aged between 6 to 12 years have tried really hard to juggle acting, dancing, costume changes, props change, all by themselves.
The music of Mnjini- The Musical – with the sub-theme Good may not be beautiful, and beautiful may not be good – was composed, arranged and produced by Hitesh “Rikki” Madan features an original background score and a soundtrack of eight songs covering the genres blues, funk, rap, bossanova, disco, rock, hip-hop and country, with performances by some of the students and faculty of the school.
Choreography is by Ishaan Bakshi, a student with Shiamak Dawar for the last 13 years now. Ishaan was a part of the cast in Mnjini’s first staging 8 years ago, so there was no better person to entrust the choreography with this time around!
Hitesh Madan said: “This year is very special for us as Aria completes 10 years. We have a children’s musical production that Payal and I wrote in 2007. When we first staged Mnjini 8 years ago, we had a cast of 40 kids, this time we have done it with only 13. It had its own challenges, but the best part for us is our own children, Ariv and Advay are acting/singing in it.”
Subir Malik and Vasundhara Vee had a small casual chat with all the students of ARIA and gave them tips of improvisation also complementing the fact that all the students performed very well and are very talented.
In “Best of the Fest”, Aria felicitated teachers who have been with the school since its start. There was a special performance that featured teachers, former students who are now part of the faculty, and existing students who have had long association with the school. The amusing performance combined generations of musical talent together on stage.
Later writing on Facebook, Vasundhara said, “Watching the students of the Aria Music And Theatre Conservatory perform at the ICCR Audi today was a balm to a day gone badly in more ways than one. It’s great to see people enjoying music so deeply while playing it. Feeling time beautifully rather than just keeping it. Thank you for turning my day around, guys. You people have a great vibe!”
Subir added, “I attend a lot of concerts in music schools across India, but my favourite is Aria! So when Hitesh called me, I said yes right away.”
Hitesh Madan Founder Aria Music & Theatre Conservatory said: “Interacting with young musicians, seeing the challenges that they face along their musical journey and the joy that they experience from the very first time they come on stage to having a rewarding performance that they have given their all to is like a walk down the memory lane for me. In establishing a school dedicated to this art, I feel God has given me the opportunity to share what I have learnt in my life as a musician, and yet discover that there is much to learn even from a five year old! “
Payal Madan Co-Founder Aria Music & Theatre Conservatory added: “The journey has been exhilarating, with the little ones showing focus and perseverance, performing with unmatched confidence, and some even going on to pursue music/drama as a career! I thank all the cast and crew members of my team who supported and helped me in executing this musical event today.”
Shatakshi, one of the winners, said: “I won best Lead Vocalist in the Indian Vocal department. My experience of nine years was amazing and I learnt lot of things. Earlier, I used to hate Indian vocals, but my mother pushed me in this direction. And, now I’m thankful to her that she did that; as a result, you can see my achievement. I’m really extremely happy. This is the 2nd time I won the award. I won my first award in 2012 for best vocalist.”
Winner Naman Singh said: “I just don’t believe in competition. I like to perform and Hitesh Sir gave me the opportunity to perform and I said yes. One should enjoy music always and just practice hard with your band for coordination. Music apart from Academics and Sports give me happiness.”