The Festival of Strings held by HCL Concerts, an arm of HCL technologies, has created a decent buzz. The intellectual property is aimed at nurturing Indian Classical music and performing arts. It has been dedicated to identify, evolve and promote talent rooted in the heritage of Indian Classical performing arts for over 17 years. A peculiarity is that these concerts are free to attend and generally boast of a glittering audience.
One such successful event was The Festival of Strings that graced over 350 artists with enthralling performances by legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and suchlike.To know more about what created the buzz we had a word with Sundar Mahalingam, Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Corporation & Shiv Nadar Foundation, who opens up about HCL Concerts and its series of events.
1. How did you conceptualize HCL Concerts? Do you have any sponsors for your concerts?
Let me answer the first part. HCL’s brand philosophy is to touch lives. We intend to invest in fields that will benefit and reach the maximum number of people. We are doing a substantial amount of work in the fields of sports and environmental awareness apart from music. Music however remains the biggest influencer, when it comes to reaching out to people. Also, we believe that HCL in spite of its global presence today is at heart truly Indian. We remain rooted in Indian values and consider it is our responsibility to promote and nurture India’s cultural heritage. To this end HCL has associated itself with the cause of reinvigorating the Indian classical performing arts through the HCL Concerts initiative. Under HCL Concerts, we have been organizing concerts that are free to attend, across Delhi NCR and Chennai every month, for over 17 years. More than 350 artists have performed with HCL Concerts so far and it has slowly evolved into a unique platform, which has featured veterans such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, as well the rare genres of performing arts like Dhrupad, Rudra Veena and Gaudiya Nritya. For the last few years we have also been associated with the Swami Haridas Tansen Sangeet Nritya Mahotsava, an annual music festival held in Delhi that sees many legends of classical music perform in a 3-4 days long extravaganza.
On the financial front, HCL is responsible for the entire planning and execution of HCL Concerts. While we are happy to explore partnerships in areas such as broadcasting or event logistics with respected organizations, we are not seeking any sponsorships for our concerts.
2. What kind of audience did you focus on? How were they engaged through the event?
HCL Concerts envisions connecting the Indian classical performing arts with the general public. Therefore, our focus is not only to associate with patrons and connoisseurs, but also with the youth and people who do not follow classical arts on a regular basis.
In terms of engagement, for us it is not just about a concert. We think about the audience’s experience with the entire classical music genre. Before every concert, we reach out to them with information about the event schedule, artists and the art itself through mailers and social media. After the concert we share photos and videos of the performance with the audience as well as our followers on social media.
3. How important do you think it is for brands to promote the cultural heritage of India?
In today’s rapidly evolving times, it seems that our cultural heritage and traditions are getting increasingly disconnected from the larger social consciousness. This makes it imperative for corporates and patrons to play their parts in promoting these traditions, cultures and arts. Unless Indian corporates try to provide these arts and artists with the stage and platform they require, it would be difficult to encourage the next generation of artists.
4. What was the Festival of Strings? Who all were invited to perform?
The Festival of Strings, as the name implies is a celebration of the exponents of stringed instruments (Sitar, Veena, Sarod, etc.). The strings family holds probably one of the largest and most diverse set of instruments and artists. So we felt this would be a good experience for the audiences as well. The festival started in February 2016 and comprises a series of concerts across Delhi NCR, featuring masters of stringed instruments, such as Pandit Prateek Chaudhuri and Ravi Iyer. We have received very positive response from our audiences so far.
5. What is the budget for such a festival?
While we strive hard to ensure all concerts under the HCL Concerts brand are impeccably executed, giving the audience an experience that they carry back, the concerts also remain free to attend. Because of the scale of these efforts, HCL has made significant investments towards HCL Concerts. We see this as a way of giving back to our nation, by identifying, evolving and promoting talent rooted in the glorious heritage of Indian classical performing arts, which means that we will continue to invest in this platform in the future as well.
6. What is the objective of HCL Concerts?
Like I mentioned earlier, HCL’s brand philosophy is to touch lives, whether it be through our businesses or community initiatives. So when looking at platforms such as building a music scholarship, an awards series or organizing musical concerts, it is paramount for us to consider the scale of impact that any such property will have and the number of lives it can touch. While every option has its merits, we felt that organizing a concert would give us that desired scale of reach and impact. Firstly it gives artists, especially the up and coming generation of performers a unique platform to perform while getting good exposure and visibility among today’s audiences. Secondly, through a concert, we are also able to provide a large set of audiences with an exposure to classical performing arts that through other platforms may not be as comprehensive. It is with this dual objective that we support music through a concerts property.
7. What is the next series of events by HCL Concerts?
The Festival of Strings is scheduled to bring more such performances in the coming months. Post that, we have another exciting series of concerts lined up, but you’ll have to wait a little for the official announcements to be out.
