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| Raganjali Music School Raises $20,000 For Children’s Camp In India |
Press Release
06/22/2011
On
11th June, 2011, Raganjali School of Music, Shrewsbury, MA organized a
musical fundraiser, Swar Lahri 2 (“Cascading Melodiesâ€). Armed with
the theme of time travel with music, Swar Lahri 2 was aiming at several
lofty goals -
Overall, the program was a major success with more than 300 people attending the show. The show also managed to raise $20,000.
The
chief-coordinator and visionary of Camp Anjali, Dr. Sruti Mohapatra, a
larger-than-life personality, a frontline disability activist in India
and a humanitarian, presided over Swar Lahri 2 as the Chief Guest. She
addressed the audience and encouraged all to respond to the cause of
disability and do whatever they can in their own way to make the world a
better place for all, especially children.
Swar
Lahri 2, i.e. “Cascading Melodiesâ€, was a production involving 40
singers, 11 musical accompanists and over 25 committed volunteers and 6
months of diligent preparation. In March 2010, the announcement for the
show was officially launched with attractive posters/fliers, web
presence for Swar Lahri 2 on the school website, as well as in Facebook,
and ads in the Shrewsbury Public Television.
The
program opened with a prayer to the spiritual symbol of Wisdom,
Learning and Music - Goddess Saraswati. From there, the story of
Hindustani classical music’s time travel began. The musical journey
carried with it glimpses of the following -
Vocal
presentations were accompanied by live musical accompaniment by
talented musicians from the local area on various instruments such as
Harmonium, Tabla, Sitar, Esraj, Dholak, Khol, Manjira, Flute, &
Guitar.
A
colorful brochure distributed to the audience revealed the purpose,
scope and details of the event, while highlighting the Donors, Sponsors,
local businesses and friends of the Raganjali community who supported
the event financially. The brochure contained a poem and articles on
disability as well as music to further highlight the many goals of the
show. Each musical piece was visually embellished by its own colorful
slideshow, making the music more meaningful and interesting for the
audience.
The
seamless flow of the program was a result of co-ordination at many
levels. The emcees helped to narrate the story beautifully while
ensuring a smooth transition between the opening and closing of
curtains. The costume team made sure all singers were immaculately and
appropriately dressed for each song. The change-over crew shuttled the
participants back and forth between the stage and the Green Room to be
ready ahead of time for their next presentation. The artist hospitality
team, the ushering team, the ticketing team, the stage and lobby decor
team, the dining team, the sound crew, individuals responsible for
special seating arrangements for each presentation and for keeping track
of time for each item in the show, all did an outstanding job in
ensuring all aspects of the program were addressed and executed
flawlessly.
Based
on audience reactions after the show, the show exceeded their
expectations in every manner. Many were overcome by the seamless flow
and clockwork precision of the program - from transitioning of items to
unique seating arrangements of singers and musicians, from meticulously
designed glamorous costumes to seamless costume changes, from flawless
vocal presentations to stunning visuals, from perfect co-ordination
between narration to opening of a presentation, as well as, from
impeccable stage decor to lobby and cafeteria arrangements. Audience
members remarked that they lost sense of time and took home with them an
unforgettable and uplifting experience. Many had come to attend a
school concert and support a cause, but were taken aback by the high
quality of the program, which could be compared to any professional
audio-visual show.
This
is the first attempt by Raganjali School of Music to bring Hindustani
Classical Music to the forefront with a worthy cause fueling the vision
to its grand completion. Indian classical music, which apparently
appeals to a discerning audience, rose above its perceived appeal and
engaged and entertained a diverse audience for over 3 hours, leaving
most looking forward to the next production.
It is the mission of Raganjali School of Music to serve the people of New England by providing quality education and in-depth training in Hindustani Music. Raganjali strives to promote appreciation for Hindustani Music, and help students achieve artistic excellence.
For
more information on Raganjali School of Music, please visit: www.raganjali.org.
More about Camp Anjali..
Camp
Anjali is a unique annual event hosted by Swabhiman, a Bhubaneswar
(India)-based NGO since 2001. It is a Children’s Festival, bringing
special-needs and mainstream children from all across India on a
creative platform for 5 days in month of November. In November 2010, in
the 9th year since its inception, about 7,500 children participated in
Camp Anjali, including children from most States in India.
Camp
Anjali has become an important social tool for increasing awareness
among children towards challenges faced by children living with
disabilities. It is targeting disability education and awareness in
India at the most fundamental level - among children, and preparing the
future generation to overcome limiting mindsets on this issue.
Camp
Anjali is also an attempt to provide an inclusive creative platform for
children. Children with special needs work alongside mainstream kids
on various projects, including music, dance, art & crafts, carnival,
etc. Working together, children continue to erase social and emotional
stigmas regarding disabilities.
The
5-day camp is held together by hundreds of volunteers - mostly students
from local schools and colleges. The volunteers meet for several
months before the event, working in groups to -
This
year, on its 10th anniversary, Camp Anjali envisions reaching out to
children from every state in India as well as children from various
countries such as, USA, UK, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, etc. If
participation goals are met by November 2011, Camp Anjali will fulfill
its vision of becoming the only Children’s Festival in India with a
significant international presence.
For more information on Camp Anjali/Swabhiman, please visit : www.childrenfestival.org.
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