Nagaland to host classical concert ‘Emotive Strings’ on July 13

Kohima: Nagaland is all set to host the second edition of ‘Emotive Strings: The Journey of Emotions’ after a gap of one year on July 13. To be presented by the Symphony Academy of Music Kohima (SAMK), the concert will have a line-up of classically trained artistes, including piano maestro Nise Meruno and prominent violinist Nourhe Khate.

Khate, whose real name is Nourhevilie Khate, will perform for the second time at the event. Addressing the media on Wednesday, Melekhoto Pucho, director, SAMK, recalled how the first concert was organised as a fundraiser event to sponsor Khate’s second year of masters in violin performance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music, London.

Besides Meruno and Khate, prominent artiste Asin Shurhozelie, Thunglano Ngullie, Neilhoukholie Chielie and the Harmonic Voices will also perform at the concert.

“We as a team want to at least bring a taste of international music to Nagaland from our experiences and through our performances with the hope to inspire the younger generation to aim for excellence,” Khate said.

“In Nagaland we have a lot of musicians and a lot of potential but we don’t aim for excellence. So this is one of the key factor in organising the concert,” Khate added. He expressed hope that Nagaland will one day reach a stage where it can have its own orchestra.

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Khate further stressed that as violin is still at a primitive stage in the state, with very few professionals, this concert also aims to inspire people about the significance of the musical instrument and the power of its strings.

Meanwhile, Yamaha artist Nise Meruno said: “People usually would associate classical music as something very serious and worrying, so we have very carefully handpicked songs that would cater to a larger audience — be it young or old.”

Highlighting it as an age-friendly concert, Meruno revealed that the concert has been categorised into three segments — sacred, classical and contemporary. He then added that it will be a ‘perfect blend’ where two or more artists will be seen performing together and “celebrating the gift of God”.

Arranged chronologically, the concert will begin with church music in the ‘sacred’ segment, which will follow the storytelling technique of the evolution of music from classical in the mid-section and finally to the ‘contemporary’ segment with modern music played in classical style.

The stage will represent ‘the finest of art’ by trained artists who will be seen performing at RCEMPA, Jotsoma, at 6.30 pm on July 13.

With venue partner MTF, the event partners are Musicians Guild, The Eastgate Hotel, Symphony Cafe, Shiu lights, San production, Imprint and Naga streetstyle.