Sneha Agrawal, First Place, Intermediate Division
David Vandereyk, Roxana Anklesaria-Doctor (3rd from left) and Intermediate Division winners
MusiQuest is a national level piano festival presented by The Academy of Music Pune and its director Roxana Anklesaria-Doctor. It aims to foster education, performance and development in music to students throughout India. The music festival is presented in a workshop/masterclass format providing amateur musicians of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to improve skills and receive constructive evaluation.
The four days of competition culminated in an additional two days of celebrations featuring a wonderful recital by Senior Division Adjudicator Nelita True of The Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York followed by the highly anticipated announcement of the prize winners. The next day hosted a Gala Honours Concert showcasing all the winners in the Preliminary, Junior, Intermediate and Advanced Divisions and featured some outstanding performances. This was followed by the presentation of significant awards to the students by the adjudicators which were generously donated by The Framroz Foundation, Diana Anklesaria and Theme Music Co. (Kawai). There were additional book prizes donated by Baerenreiter Urtext (Germany), FJH Music Company (USA), Frederick Harris Music (Canada) and Mel Bay Publications (USA). The top prize winner in the Advanced Division, Chelsea De Souza of Mumbai also received a scholarship to attend the prestigious International Institute of Young Musicians in the United States.
This year’s festival saw an unprecedented 153 participants and 38 teachers spanning the length and breadth of the country. According to Anklesaria-Doctor, “It is my vision to provide our students with musical opportunity and visibility on the national scene. As a music educator, I believe in nurturing students not only towards excellence in performance but to imbibe a love and discernment of the musical arts that will stay with them forever. MusiQuest opens the doors for musical sharing and interaction.”
To learn more visit www.academyofmusicpune.com.