Have you always been interested in witnessing a Carnatic music festival?

Well, we have some exciting news coming your way!

Mark your calendars guys and be geared to attend the annual Malaysia International Carnatic Music Festival (MYICMF) to be held virtually charting a new pathway for Carnatic connoisseurs to come together in appreciation of art.

For the third year in a row, the (MYICMF) is back with a bang, with the aim of fostering links and enculturation of tradition and cultural arts among Malaysian Indians, as well as providing Malaysians with opportunities to experience and understand Indian traditional art forms.

Expanding on the success of its virtual debut last year, MYICMF’s online presence has once again brought together participants from around the world, attracting over 500 competition entries featuring the grandeur of Carnatic Music from participants of 11 countries, including the USA, UAE, Australia, UK, Singapore, Sweden, France, Norway and Germany, apart from India the birthplace of Carnatic Music.

Details of the event are as below:

Date: 13 November 2021 (Saturday)

Time: 9.30am – 12pm

Venue: Shantanand Auditorium, Brickfields

“The culture of online music festivals is on the rise, and we are one of the pioneers locally, in organising such a large-scale, international music festival. Last year we were pleasantly surprised to receive over 300 entries for the competitions from 13 countries. This is panning out to be a new area for artistes to work in,” said Sugam Founding President Sujietra Jayaseelan Raj Kumar.

Meanwhile, she opined that online music festivals offer participants the opportunity to experience live performances from home, anywhere in the world, lowering entry barriers for participation and inspiring a broader range of audience. Sujietra added that competition entries almost doubled this year to 530, comprising participation from 11 countries.

The MYICMF 2021 will host 84 concerts and performances, 26 conversations, workshops and lecture demonstrations by renowned industry experts and a competition segment comprising Carnatic vocal and instrumental music, classical dance and multimedia genres in four different age categories.

The launch of the festival will be officiated by the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia YB Datuk Seri Dr. Santhara J.P. A key component this year will be a panel discussion on “Keeping the Music Flowing through Pandemic Times – the Malaysian Perspective” which will discuss the challenges faced by arts practitioners during the pandemic, financing models and strategies to revive the arts industry post-pandemic.

In addition, viewers can also look forward to an inspiring, alternate topic of discussion “Music and Mythology” where speakers Vivek Sadasivam, Carnatic singer and Vinay Varanasi, artwork and storyteller will explore parts of Indian Mythology and Nature through stories, Carnatic music and art. The concert segment will feature international Carnatic stars such as Vivek Sadasivam, Rahul Vellal, Chiranjeevi Soorya Narayanan, Prarthana Sai Narasimhan, and sisters, Anahita and Apoorva. Also on the itinerary are performances by Senior Stars and Rising Stars from India, US, UAE and UK.

As a special treat for viewers, MYICMF will feature performances by students of the MYICMF 2021 Lifetime Arts Achievement Awards recipients in a segment called “Samarpanam.” MYICMF will confer this prestigious award to 11 recipients from Malaysia who have contributed tirelessly towards the development of Indian arts. MYICMF is also a platform to display the talents of rising student stars and this year representing Malaysia are sisters Veenaa and Tayanaa Logenthiran, students of Sugam Karnatica, Sugam’s teaching school.

All the content under MYICMF 2021, is free for all and will either be premiered or “live” on Sugam’s YouTube channel. Participants for the conferences are required to register via the link provided on the Sugam website to enable them to participate and interact with the presenters.

“Sugam would like to convey our heartfelt gratitude to the National Department of Culture and Arts Malaysia (JKKN), Ministry of Education, Carnatica Global, ASWARA, Telugu Assocation of Malaysia, Sutra Foundation, Mani Krishnaswami Academy India and Temple of Fine Arts for supporting the festival,” said Sujietra.

“We also thank our sponsors House of CSR Sdn Bhd, V2 Care Sdn Bhd, Pancha Products Sdn Bhd and our media partner Enthamizh Vannanggal, our gurus (teachers) and arts institutions – Kalpana Dance Theatre, Swara Community Arts Center, Laasya Arts Academy, Bharatha Kalaanjalii Malaysia Shruti Laya Ghana Vidyalaya Music Academy, Sri Ganesalaya School of Dance and Persatuan Kesenian & Muzik dan Tarian Klasik India Selangor and the MYICMF secretariat for their continuous support in all our initiatives in the field of arts and culture.”

MYICMF will be streamed “live” on Sugam’s YouTube channel. Details and updates on the MYICMF 2021 are available on their official website.