NT BUZZ
Music aficionados in Goa are in for a treat. The Old Goa Music Society (OGMS) will organise the first annual Ketevan World Sacred Music Festival at the majestic and historic spaces of St Augustine tower, St Monica’s Church and the Christian Museum in Old Goa. The event will be held over two weekends between February 12 and February 21 and will witness several music programs, courses and conferences in the varied realms of sacred music including Carnatic, Christian, Sufi, Hindustani, Jewish and Orthodox.
The festival will have a strong social commitment, where the musicians will perform small shows for local villages, orphanages and hospices with the aim of spreading the love of music and education to every stratum of society.
The festival will also hold a combination of master classes, workshops and lectures conducted by noted musicians in collaboration with the Goa University and the University of Seville, Spain. A special programme will also be held for a select group of students to train with international artistes from Asia and Europe, to perform at the Festival.
The festival will also host a music symposium series at the Central Library with workshops and lectures presented by internationally acclaimed music professors.
Some of the key musicians who will be a of the festival include Rakesh Chaurasia –basuri (India), Santiago Lusardi Girelli – orchestra and choir conductor (Argentina-Italy), Leo Rossi – baroque violin (Argentina), Ustav Lal – piano raga (India), Ignacio Monteverde – flamenco guitar (UK), Marilena Fernandes – classical western music pianist (India-Austria) among many others.