Falcon Focus: Senior pursues Indian Carnatic music

October 3, 2011 — by Jackie Gu and Vivien Lu

On a given Tuesday night, senior Parthiv Mohan has piles of work to complete that his intensive classes demand. Instead of working on an AP Physics laboratory or reading dense philosophical text for AP Lang, however, he’s more likely to be found at his music teacher’s studio, practicing Carnatic music.

On a given Tuesday night, senior Parthiv Mohan has piles of work to complete that his intensive classes demand. Instead of working on an AP Physics laboratory or reading dense philosophical text for AP Lang, however, he’s more likely to be found at his music teacher’s studio, practicing Carnatic music.

Carnatic music is a system of Indian classical music from southern India that evolved from Hindu traditions. The main emphasis in this art form is on the vocals: Most compositions are meant to be sung; or, when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in a singing manner.

Having played for almost 10 years, Mohan has been performing in the United States and India. He also has entered competitions for the last seven years.

“I have made a lot of friends through learning and performing the music,” Mohan said. ”Both from people in my school and people in other schools across the globe.”

Mohan also plays Western classical violin for the school orchestra. Although the two styles of music are completely different, his parents enrolled him in both violin and vocal South Indian classical music about 10 years ago with a teacher in the area named Anuradha Sridhar, mother of SHS alumnus Harsha Murthy, who graduated last year.

“She’s really well respected and she is the niece of Lalgudi Jayaraman, who is considered one of the grandmasters of this art form,” Mohan said.

Sridhar has been running the Trinity Center for Music for about 20 years. This music program, based in the Bay Area, focuses on South Indian classical music and has burgeoned into a music school known for its excellent and dedicated students. Each year it collaborates with Dog Door Productions, a San Francisco music school for the San Francisco World Music Festival.

Door Dog Productions, a center for supporting international music cultures, has been hosting The San Francisco World Music Festival for the past 11 years. Cultures come from around the world in this annual music festival, including Chinese, Venezuelan, Kyrgyzstan and Australian people.

“Being a part of it has been a great experience,” Mohan said. “I have met other people who are torchbearers of their own cultural music.”

Most programs are held in auditoriums or even in temples, and several hundred people attend. If there’s a big group program coming up like this one, Mohan and his group could practice up to 20 hours a week.

“Carnetic music is 60 percent composition and 40 percent improvisation,” Mohan said. “It is free form. During performances, we play a number of compositions and within them there’s improvisation without meter.”

Improvisation is a skill introduced only after the fundamental skills are completely understood.

“My appreciation for Carnatic music has definitely grown over the years because once you gain more knowledge it starts becoming intuitive,” Mohan said. “It’s taken a lot of my time, but it’s becoming more enjoyable, and it has helped me create a whole network of people, helping me in life.”

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