Spanish opera singer and conductor Plácido Domingo once said, “When a young artiste is ready, one has to bring him into the limelight.” Spring Board, a new initiative by the NCPA, intends to do just that.

It is every artiste’s dream to perform in a packed auditorium. The thrill of those resounding claps, the standing ovation is incomparable. However, young and aspiring artistes have a limited number of platforms to showcase their talent in theatres and auditoriums. Ironically, the ratio of the talent pool to the opportunities available is rather uneven. Spring Board endeavours to f ill that vacuum by giving young and talented artistes a platform where they will imbibe first-hand knowledge of what goes into the making of a superlative performing artiste.

A dream is born 

Speaking about the aim and intent behind Spring Board, Farrahnaz Irani, General Manager – Chairman’s Office and International Music, shares, “In India, music is no longer just a hobby. The number of kids learning music and working seriously to make a career in it is growing every day. However, since these talented young musicians are still finding their feet, many of them agree to do shows for free. Spring Board will not only give them the experience of a ticketed and marketed show, but also the opportunity to use this platform as a base to spring them into the mainstream, giving their résumé a much-needed boost.” In a nutshell, Spring Board will offer young artistes the right tools to polish their skills and give their art and talent further direction and purpose, along with the right kind of exposure for a bigger and better future in the field.

Scheduled to be held on 20th and 21st April, the inaugural edition of Spring Board will see two multi-talented bands—Urban Soul and Blues Collective (USB-C) and Extensions. Irani notes that USB-C comprises young students, who had attended workshops at the NCPA to help better their stage presence and musicality, and were thereafter noticed and approached for Spring Board; and Extensions is a group of students learning music, ready to be known by the audiences.

USB-C includes Zaaira Mulchandani and Isaiah Rodrigues on vocals, Shri Lavanya Pudipeddi on bass, Kylen Mendes on drums, Isaac Rodrigues on guitar and Zidaan Mulchandani on keys and vocals. Zaaira and Zidaan, who are twins, and Isaac and Isaiah, who are siblings, were studying at the same school and spontaneously decided to jam one day. That is how the core band, ZIZI—an acronym for their first names—was formed. ZIZI became USB-C after their bassist Lavanya, whom they met at a jam session, and drummer Kylen, who went to the same school as the twins, joined in.

Extensions includes Mahir Muchhala on keyboard, Jordan Rodrigues and Arslan Parvez as sub keyboardists, Maahi Sharma and Khushi Prasad on vocals, Raunak Upadhyay on guitar, Tanish Ganatra on drums and Marcelo Fernandes as sub drummer. They all met in college and over weeks of performing together, discovered that they shared similar interests in genres and styles that they listened to. On realising that they work well together, they decided to form Extensions.

The thrill of it 

Speaking about what inspired USB-C to participate in Spring Board, Zidaan says, “We just love the thrill of playing for an audience. We now want to test our mettle so that we can push ourselves even more and gauge and hone our skills to become better artistes and performers.”

Mahir from Extensions says, “As a band, our passion for music and the chance to connect with our audience drives us. This event is a golden opportunity for us to showcase our creativity, talent and hard work to a wider audience. Sharing the stage with other talented musicians and being part of a vibrant musical community adds to our excitement.”

Arslan from Extensions is excited about the opportunities that Spring Board is set to offer. He looks forward to observing and interacting with fellow musicians, which will help provide valuable insights. The event, he notes, will foster a deeper understanding of their knowledge and musicality.

Zidaan echoes the sentiment and hopes that performing at Spring Board will help the band garner recognition from established personalities in the field of music, widen their network and, hopefully, help them get more opportunities to perform. The band also seeks to address some key areas, such as how to expand their repertoire, build stage confidence and work on perfecting their technique.

The first edition of an event always comes with its own set of hurdles and hiccups. Speaking about some of the challenges that Spring Board could possibly be facing, Irani says, “Given the experience that the NCPA has, the curation has been relatively easy. However, we have just opened the box office and it might be a challenge to bring in people who don’t know the bands, to give their time and money to come and support them.”

Spring Board is nothing short of a dream come true for every talented and up-and-coming band that is looking to break into the music scene. It serves to be as much of a learning ground as a platform to perform. Hoping to make this a regular event, Irani and the NCPA look forward to seeing immense support from the audience towards blossoming artistes.