Kalaa Utsavam 2020’s theme of the Tree of Life invited its audiences to find comfort in a series of live carnatic music and classical dance performances by Singapore's Indian arts community.
One such stirring performance was by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) Alumni which presented compositions and melodies along the theme of celebration and positivity.
Set up in 2009, the SIFAS Alumni brings together former students and emerging talents with the passion for Indian classical music and dance.
The performer included prize-winning carnatic vocalist, Aarthi who began her musical journey at age three, and is currently under the tutelage of Sri TP Nishant. She performs regularly in Singapore and India and is trained in bharatanatyam as well as the veena.
Sandhya is currently learning the violin under Guru NN Ganesh Kumar at SIFAS, and performs regularly for SIFAS’ productions. She won first place in the Violin intermediate category of the 2017 National Indian Music Competition.
Sivakumar was taught by Sangeetha Kala Acharya Kumbakonam Shri Rajappa Iyer and later his son KR Ganesh in Chennai. He completed the diploma course from SIFAS with the Vadya Visharad title under the guidance of Guru Tripunithura Shreekanth and has been accompanying various artists in Singapore in their concerts for the Navarathri and other temple festivals.
You can watch this performance on Facebook and Esplanade Offstage till December 20, 2020.