Sangeeth Samraat - Midwest USA & Ontario Canada Regional Competitions

Sunday Sep 20th, 2015
Registrations open at 8:30am
SVBF Temple (Sringeri Sharadamba Temple)
26325 Halsted Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan

Additional info at www.sangeethsamraat.com & www.carnaticworld.com

2015 Great Lakes (Midwest) Regional Winners

WINNERS AT SANGEETH SAMRAAT HELD ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

Details / Rules & Regulations

General Rules and Regulations for USA

1.     This is a contest with a difference. Participants talent is the key and they choose to showcase their talents with in the specified time limit without any questions / interruption from the judges. This is a reality show which is beyond a contest that makes them realize their dreams and brings out the best in them where judges are also more of a rasika and a mentor than being a member of the jury. Participants are free to express their best music uninterrupted with in the allotted time limit.

2.     The event is divided into 3 categories:

a.     Sangeeth Bala Samraat – This is an individual event for participants up to 12 years of age.

b.     Sangeeth Yuva Samraat – This is an individual event for participants from 13 years – 30 years of age.

c.      Carnatic Premier League (Carnatic classic choir & Carnatic band) – This is a group event of minimum 6 and maximum 10 members and there is no age limit to participate.

3.     The contest is open to vocalists and instrumentalists that includes violin, veena, chitraveena, mandolin, saxophone, keyboard, flute, mridangam, kanjira, nadaswaram, thavil and so on.

4.     Even during the finals or grand finals, the focus is on performance and not on quizzing the participants. Hence, the finals will be a 20 minute mini kutcheri in USA and for grand finals it will be a 60 minute concert in India.  Regarding the finals for juniors, it will be a 10 minute performance and a few pre-determined questions will be put up and the kids coached on that.

5.     A participant can take part in either one or all of the categories mentioned. It is the choice of the participant to participate in the number of categories they would like to contest.

6.     Exceptions in age limit may be considered for special talents. Differently abled participants and talents shall also be duly rewarded.

7.     The mentoring/judges panel will comprise of some of the best gurus in USA along with celebrity musicians from India.

8.     Preliminary rounds will begin on September 7^th, 2015 for the USA. The regional coordinators will inform the planned dates, venue and time for the preliminary rounds shortly.

9.     Participants will also have the facility of online registrations in www.sangeethsamraat.com  or www.carnaticworld.com where they will only submit their registrations and pay at the contest venues. The registrations can also done in person at the contest venue on the day of the event.

10.                        Selected winners from the preliminary rounds from the regional levels will directly compete in the Pre-finals and finals at the National level.

11.                        Pre-finals will be a process to groom the top finalists for the finals. Free mentoring will be provided by our panel of leading musicians in order to ably guide the participants to prepare for the Pre-finals and finals. Pre-finals and finals for USA will be held on October 10^th and October 11th, 2015 respectively. Contest venue and time will be intimated shortly.

12.                        Every participant will be awarded a medal and a certificate of participation.

13.                         Regional coordinators, sponsors and gurus along with their shishyas, will also be honored and recognized during the event.

14.                          The participant should be dressed in traditional Indian attire, as and how she/he will appear for an Indian classical concert.

15.                         The participant should carry his/her own sruthi box/tambura/instrument with proper cables and adaptors. We will provide only power points.

16.                        No one else, apart from the participant, can be on stage before, after, or during the performance.

17.                        There will be no accompaniments provided for the preliminary level contests. Accompaniments may be provided only for the finals.

18.                        Preliminary round may be preceded by a screening round, depending on the number of entries received for the preliminary round. In such a case, the screening will take place the day before the preliminary round or a date announced by the local host organization.

19.                        The judges' decision will be final in all cases. No arguments, disputes, or conversation with the panel will be entertained.

20.                        The judges/organizers have the right to disqualify any participant on the grounds of misbehavior, violation of the rules, misconduct, disrespect to the judges, or not meeting the requirements of the contest.

21.                        If the selected participants fail to report to the next round, the opportunity will be given to the immediate wait-listed candidate chosen/reserved by the judges.

22.                        The Grand Finale will be held in India. The participants must be willing to travel to the contest venues across the USA and to India if selected for finals, at their own cost. However, hotel accommodations may be arranged at the contest venues by the organizers for a subsidized cost upon request.

23.                        The above listed rules are for the preliminary selections only. If selected for the finals, the rules will be slightly changed and will be intimated at the appropriate time.

24.                        The regional host organization may charge an entry fee for participating in the contest. The entry fee, if any, is not refundable.

25.                        The participant’s visibility on television during the telecast is solely at the discretion of Sri Sankara TV. The participant, parent, or guru, will not have any claims about appearance, non-appearance, or duration of appearance whatsoever. In places where Sri Sankara TV is not aired, the event will be telecasted via online platforms.

26.                        All the rules mentioned above shall apply uniformly across all centers in North America.

27.                        Should there be any changes to the rules, it will be communicated by the local host organization.

28.                        All legal disputes will be settled under Chennai jurisdiction.

Specific guidelines, rules and regulations for USA

Category 1 - Sangeeth Bala Samraat 2015

1.     Age Limit: Maximum 12 years. No Minimum age.

2.     This is an individual category which can have solo / duet performances.

3.     Maximum time limit for Preliminary round: 5 minutes, allotted time for final recital: 10 minutes for each participant.

4.     It is up to the participants to showcase their talent with their choice of songs. There will be no questions or interference from the judges. However, judges may assist the participant with pitch and talam if required.

5.     Vocalists will be tested for Sa-Pa-Sa sustenance.

6.     Instrumentalists will be tested for the maximum “Sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa” rendition in 1 minute.

7.     Percussionists will be tested on the ability to play adi thalam or any thalam of their choice. To perform basic exercises and optional thani avarthanam in the finals.

8.     Participants competing for “category awards” will render only songs from (i)geetham – also includes swarajathi &nottuswarams (ii)varnam – also includes pada varnams and (iii)krithis without manodharmam. Participants can take part in any or all of the categories by paying registration fee for each category / sub category they are willing to contest. Each of these categories will be judged and awarded prizes separately.

9.     Participants competing for title – “Sangeeth Bala Samraat” award, have an option to render manodharmam. However, finalists may also be tested for swara gnyanam based on exercises from Janta varisais, alankarams and basic swara exercise patterns and not kalpanaswarams.

10.                        Regional level winners will be competing at the National level for the title.

11.                        The finalists will however have an option to render manodharmam.

12.                        Only exceptional gifted prodigies may be recognized by the judges to compete in the global level and may be given global visibility.

13.                        Regional winners will be awarded attractive prizes. All participants get a medal and certificate.

14.                        Prize money for the National finalist will be $500, $300 and $200 for the first, second and third positions respectively.

15.                        Decision of the judges will be final.

Category 2 – Sangeeth Yuva Samraat

1.     Age Limit: Junior: 13 - 19 years, Senior: 20 – 30 years

2.     This is an individual category which can have solo / duet performances.

3.     Maximum time limit for Preliminary round: 8 minutes.

4.     To compete for category awards, the participants of ‘Sangeeth Yuva Samraat – Junior (13-19 years) will render only songs from (i)geetham – also includes swarajathi &nottuswarams (ii)varnam – also includes pada varnams and (iii)krithis without manodharmam.. However, participants competing for title awards, have an option to render manodharmam. Participants can take part in any or all of the categories by paying registration fee for each category / sub category they are willing to contest. Each of these categories will be judged and awarded prizes separately.

5.      ‘Sangeeth Yuva Samraat – Senior (20-30 years)’ is a performing category only.

6.     Participants have to present any Carnatic compositions of their choice. Instrumentalists are free to express their best music uninterrupted with in the allotted time limit.

7.     Sa-Pa-Sa sustenance will be tested.

8.     Instrumentalists will be tested for the maximum “Sa ri ga ma pa da ni sa” rendition in 1 minute.

9.     If the instrument is violin, participants can participate as accompanying or general category. Ability to accompany vocal / any other instrument will be tested in the accompanying category.

10.                        Percussion can participate as accompanying or general category. If accompanying category, participants must play thani avarthanam, should have the ability to tell jathi, konakkol and ability to accompany a song. If general, participants will be tested on basic exercises and thani avarthanam.

11.                        Regional level winners to compete at National levels. All national level winners from across the globe compete in India for the ultimate title.

12.                        There will be 24 participants selected to compete nationwide and top 8-12 participants will be selected from pre finals to compete in the finals.

13.                        Finalists should be prepared to present a mini-kutcheri for 20 minutes.

14.                        Grand finale participants should be prepared to perform a 60 minutes concert in India in front of a galaxy of celebrity musicians, leading gurus, leading sabha secretaries, media and organizers to compete for the ultimate title.

15.                        Regional winners will be awarded attractive prizes. All participants get a medal and certificate.

16.                        Prize money for the National finalist will be $1000, $750 and $500 for the first, second and third positions. The 4^th, 5^th and 6^th position finalists will be awarded $100 each.

17.                        Decision of the judges will be final.

Category 3 – Carnatic Premier League (Group)

1.     This is a group event and there is no age limit.

2.     Team size 6-10 members.

3.     Maximum time limit is 6-8 minutes for the preliminary round and allotted time of 12 minutes for finals.

4.     Participants can take part in either 1 group or both the groups by paying registration fee for the number of groups they are willing to participate.

5.     The groups can be of two different category:

a)     Carnatic Classic Choir – Preliminary rounds require traditional group rendition of any 1 song from the Pancharathnam. However, finalists may be required to know 3-4 songs of the pancharathnam atleast, in order to have the best pancharathnam rendition.

b)    Carnatic band – Participants are required to form their own team to perform 1 traditional group song or 1 innovative carnatic rendition/song in symphony style of composed / pre composed songs with Carnatic ragas. The band can also be formed with only instrumentalists/percussionists or a mixed group.

6.     The groups may also have fancy names. For e.g.: Trichy Thyagaraja, Mylapore Mohanam, Detroit Trinity etc. Alternatively, the group can also be sponsored by corporates and teams named accordingly. Ex: Nalli Classics, Radiance Ragas etc. Organizations bringing local sponsors will be allowed to display their brand at the contest venue and duly recognized.

7.     Best team from the regionals, will be selected for the Nationals and the winning team leaders, if needed can pick a paid participant to join the team in order to enhance the quality of the team. This participant can be a new contestant who did not participate in the regionals but will pay and take part in pre finals and finals.

8.     There will be no questions or interference from the judges. However, judges may assist the participants with pitch and talam if required.

9.     3-4 groups will get selected from every region depending on the total number of participating teams to compete in the National level.

10.                        3 group teams will be chosen to represent the respective country for the finals.

11.                        Regional winners will be awarded attractive prizes. All participants get a medal and certificate.

12.                        Final winning group will be awarded $1000 each in Carnatic Classical choir and Carnatic Symphony/band category.

13.                        Decision of the judges will be final.

SVBF Donations:

This Program is hosted by the SVBF Temple which is not charging for viewers tickets.

Your GENEROUS DONATIONS to the SVBF Temple are always appreciated on the day of the program. All Donations in the form of CHECK to be written to the favor of SVBF Temple, Michigan. Cash donations are also welcome.


Thanks for your support of this event.