“God is supposed to be fair, but so much brains and talent in one place is certainly unfair,” said the judge after a string of amazing performances at the Western Music competition on Sunday. CLT echoed as much with cheers as with music as some really memorable performances took place.
The notes started to flow at six in the evening, with the vocalists going up first. Although there were some average (and below) performances, more than a few were beyond the ordinary. An abundance of skill in a variety of genres including rock, metal, pop and jazz gave the audience a pretty amazing show that lasted till ten in the night.
Neither the vocal nor the instrumental winners came as a surprise, though. The strong voice and brilliant vocal vibrato of Pinky from Tambi won him an easy first place; he effortlessly hit the high pitches while singing two popular songs- Susie Q and Superstition. Vaaruni from Sharav sang two wonderfully cheerful songs with a clear, melodious tone and took the second place. Aarathi, again from Sharav, sang in an equally melodious voice to win third. Other performances worth mentioning were Dandiya’s rendition of ‘Mad World’ and IP (from Saras)’s rendition of Seal’s Kiss From A Rose.
However, the if the vocal performances were good, the instrumental ones were awesome. Glucon’s superb rendition of a piece by Yanni left the audience stunned and breathless. Every time Glucon pulled off a stunning sequence, the audience erupted, only to quickly return to silence, lest they should miss the next one. At the end, the audience gave him a standing ovation, and the applause lasted well over thirty seconds.
Rafael of Pampa won second place with a lively and very professional performance of Miles Davis piece on the keyboard. Third went to Chandrashekhar, a first-year from Alak, who played two Chopin pieces on keyboard.
An encore by Glucon and Lollipop concluded the competition on a wonderful note, and the audience dissolved into the night with echoes of the sound of the violin in their ears.
