Audition Procedures

Selection

ITC SRA offers admissions, in general, to candidates who have successfully completed their secondary school exams (Class X). In special cases, younger applicants who display extraordinary talent shall be considered for special training.

In the past too, in special cases, where merit has demanded it, very young children have been taken. Arshad Ali Khan now a young man has been with us since the age of five. He continues to be trained by his guru and uncle Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, himself a former scholar of the academy. Kaushiki, the daughter of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, was born in the campus, and naturally started her lessons very early.

Selection is done on the basis of a preliminary listening and a final audition. A candidate has to send us a CD or mail us at [email protected] with a half hour of his or her recently (no more than 3 months old) recorded music. Short listed candidates are then sent an application form and are invited for the final audition. What ITC SRA looks for in a candidate is the ability to present a raga to the accompaniment of a tanpura and a tabla.

Expert Committee

The Expert Committee at the Academy, presided over by the Director, comprises knowledgeable, committed and experienced musicians, responsible for the selection and periodic assessment of scholars. The Committee meets periodically to evaluate scholars. The appraisal involves voice reproduction, gayakee and riyaz and peshkari. The Committee then makes specific suggestions for the scholar’s improvement and highlights his special talents. ITC SRA attaches a lot of importance to the fact that the scholar must critically listen to his own music and deepen his faculty of introspection. The progress of each scholar, as assessed by the Expert Committee, is meticulously noted and monitored. There is free and open communication between senior musicians and gurus on the progress of the scholars, for whom they share the responsibility.