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Third Edition of the Nagaland Piano Festival ‘Brillante’ takes place this November

Khyochano TCK

Oct 26, 2021 — 6 min read

Brillante – the Nagaland Piano Festival is the only one of its kind in India. This event is a convergence of local, national and international pianists engaging in multi-genre music through Performance, Pedagogy, Competition, Interactions, Practicum (demos, masterclasses, workshops, etc) all in one venue. For 3 days, we celebrate everything about the piano from its origin to where we are today!

The heart of Brillante, the Nagaland Piano Festival, is to celebrate the history and impact of piano music, promote emerging talents and encourage the study and performance of the piano. In Nagaland, this is the most developed of all instrumental music studies and the one that has most widely and deeply influenced the community – starting from the church pioneers in the early 1900s to its presence in almost every household today. This consistent engagement has resulted in producing many pianists, prominent performers, composers and remarkable educationists.

Early Beginnings

In Nagaland, the study of the Piano, as an instrument, is regarded as one the most developed and progressed of classical music study. This has given rise to more pianists in higher music education and professional occupation than any other instruments. Moreover, Nagaland was poised to be the centre of such a festival because of the overwhelming support and love for piano music from the community.

As a pianist and educator herself, the Founder and Director of Brillante, Khyochano TCK organised the first edition with a vision to making Brillante a hub for piano enthusiasts by providing a platform for all and encouraging the next generation of pianists. The unique blend of Performance, Competition and Pedagogy in an atmosphere of celebration and finesse is what Brillante has been about.

What happens at Brillante

To demonstrate a high level of performance and teaching methodologies through concerts, masterclasses and workshops

To create a platform and forum for local teachers and students to explore a deeper understanding of piano studies through masterclasses and discussions

To provide an opportunity for all deserving pianists to compete at an international level

To explore various pianistic styles across varied genres

The 1st Edition

The first edition witnessed Tatiana Dichenko, Russian Pianist, Instructor – Furtados Mumbai, Pradyumna Singh Manot, Proprietor 12 Keys Kolkatta and Jazz Pianist and Nagaland’s very own Concert Artiste Nise Meruno as resource persons, judges and performers. Prior, 85 pianists contending for a place in the state-wide Piano Competition out of which 35 were adjudged to the Preliminary Round judged by Bethel Tsuzu, Zingrin Shishak, Sahu Peseyie and Ezono Kithan John – all veteran pianists and renowned instructors of Nagaland. Yamaha and Furtados partnered and sponsored the winning prizes.

The festival was one of the first for the classical music community to come together and further attested the birth of the Nagaland Piano Teachers Association which is the apex body that was formed to maintain quality in piano education, seek and provide platforms for well-deserving pianists, regulate and organise events to develop and better teaching and learning experiences and also continue to build and connect the classical music community to its best.

The 2nd edition

The second edition got off with a grand opening of the 100-Pianos Overture to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (4th movement, Symphony No.9). 102 pianists consisting of all levels from age 4 onwards performed together expressing their common bond and love for the piano.

This occasion was attended by the Advisor to the Chief Minister of Nagaland Shri Abu Metha, the Advisor of TaFMA Shri Theja Meru, the project Director of TaFMA Shri Hovithal Sothu and a host of teachers, parents and well wishers.

10 competitors were selected for the finals judged by Natalia, Aman Mahajan and Visahu Peseyie. The event also witnessed performances and participation of students from KM Conservatory of Music, Chennai led by their illustrious faculty member, Dr. Surojeet Chatterjee. Other featured performers were Anubhav Sen, Palak Jatin Chauhan and Saveri Mishra.

The 3rd Edition FAQs

With the success of the first edition followed by national participation and attention in the second edition we now take the challenge and opportunity to go international in our third edition this year.

To make Nagaland the “Piano Capital” of India. Our goal is to access the community of pianists around the world and also be accessed by them. The third edition will be an online one with state-of-the-art video and performance footages from different parts of the world as well as Nagaland.
Going international this year, Brillante is honoured to be featuring renowned artists from different parts of the globe in the Classical and Jazz arena namely Marouan Benabdallah from Germany, Luke Jones from Wales, Monika Herzig from US, and Pradyumna Singh Manot from India.
Confirmation of participation from various countries from around the globe and competitors from all over India and Nagaland.
Live Street piano event event featuring artists from Kohima. We plan to have an introductory video showcasing the host city for the festival.
Workshops/masterclasses via video and zoom meet.
Virtual Grand concert
Powered by TaFMA and supported by NPTA (Nagaland Piano Teachers Association)

Brillante is a non-profit organisation that welcomes the partnership and contribution and support from sources that believe and want to invest in this vision to uplift and build doors for the piano community in Nagaland.

Believing in the power and strength of a strong music community and the benevolence of well wishers, we are forging ahead to continue aspiring the vision of why we started such a festival. With this regard, nothing has been more evidently convicting than aligning with individuals or organisations that discern such a movement.

Street Piano

The Street Piano was held on the 29th September 2021, organised by the Brillante Team to be a curtain raiser for the main festival.

On its third edition this year, the Director/Founder Khyochano TCK wanted to share the power of music to bring hope, goodwill and healing to the community by organising an event in the streets of Kohima.

Through this epoch marking collaboration with Kohima Smart City, the organisers were able to execute a phenomenal event that was truly a ‘step-up’ event for Nagaland.

The citizens of Kohima were treated to beautiful piano music, songs, a string quartet and a dance competition right out in the open, in the heart of Kohima city.

The venue was visually captivating with piano keys painted on the floor of the whole parking lot, handpainted street piano and other installation art piece attractively displaying the logo of Brillante for all onlookers to see.

The event started at 12:00 noon and the crowd did not dissipate even at 5:00pm when the last note was played by a little boy called Jabez.

The goal of this Street Piano Day was to uplift the community and provide the comfort, hope and beauty of life through music, and it did just did that. The real 3rd edition of Brillante festival will be held on December 15, 16 and 17 this year. Watch out for this event and it holds great promise to keep us enthralled and hooked by creative innovation and presentation.