What is Crescendo ? Crescendo is a North Indian Classical music competition for all age groups and categories and is open for the residents of United States and Canda. Who is Crescendo meant for ? Crescendo is meant for students of North Indian Classical Music and NOT for professionals. What is the elimination process ? Participants will go through two online elimination rounds. If qualified for the finals, the participant will then submit another video of their performance online. If qualified for the Mega Final the participant will be required to travel to Atlanta and perform with live accompaniment. Will you provide accompanists or should I bring my own ? We highly encourage that participants bring their own accompanists with whom they are comfortable playing alongside. In case if you are unable to SwarGanga can provide accompanists, however, please inform us atleast 45 days in advance so that we can arrange for the same. A separate fee will apply. Who will judge me ? We have partnered with extremely reputed musicians across the world who will judge all the participants. Friends, family and supporters will have a chance to vote for their favourite candidate, however, judges will have the final say. Who can participate ? Anyone who can perform North Indian Classical Music and is not a professional musician. How much will it cost me to participate ? Entry fee is $50 per entry. What are the requirements Requirements are simple. You perform a North Indian classical Music piece and submit your entry. It can be as simple as a bandish, a gat or kayda/tukda/rela. The rest is in the hands of the voters and judges. Music pieces need to be limited to 8 mins for Elimination rounds and 15 minutes for finals and Mega-Finals. What am I supposed to perform specifically ? Anything as long as its North Indian classical Music. Remember you are showcasing your talent, so we encourage you to do your best in the time allotted. What's the difference between finals and mega finals In finals you will be judged within your own age group and category. In Mega-Finals there will be no category boundaries. Instrumental, Vocal and Tabla participants will compete with each other within their own age group. What will I be judged on ? You will be judged based on tunefulness, presentation, command over lay and taal, raag/taal improvisation and overall understanding of North Indian Classical Music. Will SwarGanga make arrangements for travel, food and stay On event day in Atlanta there will be food & drinks available for purchase. Food will be provided for free for Participants. You will be responsible for making travel and hotel reservations. What will I get for participating and progressing through the event ? Other than goodies, certificates and misc gifts; you, your music school and your music teacher will get a lot of recognition worldwide as you compete and progress through the event. Will I be asked to perform something on the spot ? No. Whatever you perform will be rehearsed for the given time frame. You can then just perform the exact piece as it is. You will not be asked to perform a random piece by an of the judges. Will the judging be interactive ? No. The judging will be silent. You will not have any interaction with the judge during the event. Can I use electronic tabla and tanpura for the elimination rounds ? Yes. Absolutely ! For the elimination rounds you can use electronic tabla and or tanpura. You do not need to have live accompaniment for that. How does the user rating work ? The rating is based on a 70/30 split with the judges being responsible for 70% rating and the audience responsible for 30% rating. The judges will rate on a very different set of criteria. The audience can only judge based on overall rating. don't worry you will be judged by the best of the best! Why should the audience vote for me ? Although we have some of the best judges in the industry, its important that your music appeals to masses! Which is why people can vote for it. Although the audience doesn't judge you technically they purely judge based on appeal. Remember that the most popular artists of today became popular because of the common man or as we call the rasik. Can I sing the same raag, same bandish in all of the rounds ? Yes you can! But we recommend that you don't. The more items you prepare the better it will be for the judges to know your talent! Can I sing film songs in the semi classical round ? No! The idea is to stick to a semi classical piece which can be a Bhajan, Thumri, Dadra, Hori, Chaiti, Natyageet etc. FILM SONGS ARE NOT ALLOWED. Do I have to submit a video ? Yes. You will have to submit a video that was exclusively created for Crescendo. Previous competition videos or previously performed videos will not be accepted. The video doesn't have to be fancy, but has to be original. What if I perform longer than the time allotted ? If your entry is longer in the elimination rounds, this might be ok. However in the live rounds, we will give you visual indication that you are running out of time. If we don't see an attempt to start ending your performance, we might be forced to stop it abruptly. You will NOT be disqualified for going over. Do I have to sing judges choice in the Finals ? If you make it to the finals, you will be asked to pick 3 items of your choice and list them for the judges, the judges will then select one item, give you their choice 15 days before the Finals submission opens up. For eg. If you are a vocal performer you might say I can perform Bhup, Durga, Khamaj. The judge might pick Bhup. You will then be required to present Bhup. If you don't submit the 3 choices, it might be considered as a negative factor against your judging. That depends on the judges discretion. Are there tickets for the event ? If you are a participant you don't have to purchase tickets. But if you are not a participant, you will need to purchase tickets for the event. This is necessary so that we can re-coupe some of the cost.