5th edition of Brillante Piano Festival to be held in Bangalore

KOHIMA — The fifth edition of the Brillante Piano Festival will be held at the Prestige Centre for Performing Arts in Bangalore on Sep. 28 and the 29th.

This was informed during a press conference jointly addressed by Vikhietuonuo Rutsa, PR head and guest relations; Khyochano TCK, festival director; Dr. Keneilhoulie Medom, hospitality and medical; Akhriezo Kire, operations and logistics, and Namang T Chang, digital and media, at Kohima Press Club (KPC) office on Friday.

Announcing the festival dates, Rutsa said that people from all over the world and diverse backgrounds will be coming together to be part of the festival, which will be held at Church Street in the heart of Bangalore city.

She informed that the festival will also host an exclusive event for the specially abled musicians (SAM) where participants from across the country including Nagaland will be participating.

The festival director Khyochano TCK said that the festival, which kicked off in 2017 in Kohima, is all about awakening possibilities.

“It is about changing lives, it is about community impact, from the person, to the family, to the community, and to the nation through the transformative power of music,” she said.

She also informed that this is for the first time that they are moving the entire festival from Nagaland to South India.

Highlighting that Nagaland is known for its culture and music, Khyochano remarked that when Brillante goes to another state, it doesn’t necessarily represent music alone but also the people, culture and all that Nagas are known for. She also disclosed that Brillante is an Intellectual Property (IP) of Nagaland.

And since the festival has partnered with the Department of Industries and Commerce, she said that they’re also sending entrepreneurs to use the same platform to showcase their products.

“The special thing about Brillante is that it is the only multi-genre piano festival in the world and our event goes beyond just music experience. It is a creative engagement, it is a cultural experience, it is also known for our innovative platforms that we introduce. Brillante also takes great pride in being the one that has pioneered a platform for musicians with special needs,” she added.

It is reported that more 20 groups will be performing throughout the two-day festival, which will also include workshops, panel discussions, piano master class, evening concerts, exhibitions of various brands, booth engagements and displays and “The Naga Experience.”

Besides many renowned artistes, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad S Sangma has also reportedly confirmed his participation.

Khyochano said that initially the festival started with three categories of competition, but in this edition they have added three more components including music production, prodigy as well as a contest to see which artiste has the “fastest fingers.”

The fastest fingers called the ‘Flying Ninja’ competition will determine the fastest fingers in this year’s festival.

It was informed that a 60-member group from Nagaland including students from Hope Academy, Ülikhrie Folk Group, Specially Abled Musicians ( SAM ) and others will attend the festival.

Representatives from 18 countries including The Netherlands, Republic of Korea, France, Australia, Latvia, Thailand, Nepal, Canada, USA, Hungary, India, Russia, Scotland, Japan, Bhutan, Congo, UK and Spain will also be participating in the festival.

The festival is anticipated to have about 20 lakh footfall while it will be open from 10 am till 10 pm.