CTU 2009 Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the responses to the questions below before sending any questions you have to info {AT} tyagaraja-chicago.org.

Last Updated: Friday, 25 June 2009

Back to Registration Guidelines

1. What do I have to do to stay informed about the logistical details of various CTU events?

A. Register your contact information and areas of interest with CTU

2. I am a CTU Teacher and one of my students is not sure if she will be attending the Utsavam. If I register her for participation in my Teacher Session, can I make changes to the registration after the CTU 2009 Registration Deadline?

A. Yes. You can. However, please note that changes received after the CTU 2009 Registration Deadline may not be printed in the CTU 2009 Tyagaraja Vijayam brochure.   Also, the time allocated teachers next year is based on the actual number of students performing in the Teacher Session this year.

3. Are Bharat Natyam performances being considered by CTU for Tyagaraja Homage sessions?

A. No. CTU is not considering Bharat Natyam performances for Tyagaraja Homage sessions.

4. I registered but did not receive an acknowledgement. How can I get confirmation that my registration was received by CTU?

A. If you did not receive an acknowledgement at the e-mail address you provided in the registration, please try re-submitting the registration after a few minutes. Please ensure that you provide all the requested information as well as the Verification Code at the bottom of the registration page. If you still do not receive an acknowledgement, please send an e-mail to info {AT} tyagaraja-chicago.org requesting confirmation that CTU received your registration.

5. Two of my students are singing with two others who are not my students. Who registers them?

A. A Teacher Session should only have the students of the given teacher. If there are students from multiple teachers in a group, the group should designate a contact person and have the contact person register separately as a Group Session. 

6. What would be the duration of an Accompanied Performance? Would it be one song only?

A. An Accompanied Performance is also one Kriti only like the Individual Performance. However, as mentioned at Accompanied Performances, the time limit for Accompanied Performances will be determined after all the registrations have been received.

7. I am a teacher in the Chicagoland area. I did not receive any e-mail regarding the time allocated by CTU for my Teacher Session. Can you please resend this e-mail?

A. Please refer to the Teacher Session section in the CTU 2009 Registration Guidelines. Here are some relevant extracts:

  • Teacher Sessions are time periods allotted to teachers based on the number of students who participated from their school in 2008.
  • Teachers with five or less students will be allotted the same time as Individual Performances — four minutes. This is the time allotted to the whole Teacher Session. In other words, the Teacher can have the students render a single performance by one child or a single performance by a group of 2 to 5 children. The total time for this Teacher Session cannot exceed four minutes.
  • Teachers with six or more performing students in 2008 have already been informed about their respective time periods.
  • New teachers will be informed about their respective time slots after all registrations are received.
  • When determining the number of students per teacher, CTU does not include members of the teacher’s family learning from the teacher.

Depending on your specific situation, you may not have received an e-mail from CTU informing you about the time allotted for your Teacher Session.

8. What is the criteria for becoming a CTU sponsored accompaniment so that people can choose you?

A. There is no concept of a CTU sponsored accompaniment. Performers delivering an Accompanied Performance are welcome to work directly with the artists of their choice.

9. Can I perform a Tyagaraja Kriti that is not there in the List of Kritis provided?

A. Absolutely. The list of Tyagaraja Kritis provided is only for reference. It also ensures some consistency in the manner in which they are spelt. You may enter a Tyagaraja Kriti that is not in the list in the Kriti field on the Registration page.

10. How do I indicate an Accompanied Performance? My kids registered for an Individual Performance requesting a CTU Mridangam. Is that an Accompanied Performance?

A. Accompanied Performances are indicated by specifying the name of the accompanying instrument and the accompanying artist in the Accompaniments box on the Registration page. If you select CTU Mridangam, it will be treated as an Accompanied Performance. As mentioned in the update on Accompanied Performances, CTU expects you to submit an updated registration with the name of the Accompanying Artists. If you are registering for an Individual Performance please ensure that you do not select CTU Mridangam or CTU Ghatam.

11. I have an engagement in the evening on Saturday. Can I get an afternoon slot?

A. CTU looks foward to your attendance on all three days at this festival of concerts and dance performances. Please refer to the General Guidelines section at CTU 2009 Registration Guidelines  and the CTU 2009 Program Schedule for additional details on the sequence in which various performances will be scheduled. We are not in a position to provide any further detail at this time.  We do not anticipate having any Homage to Tyagaraja sessions in the evening on Saturday since we have a professional program scheduled at that time.

12. We have registered our children for Individual Performances. Will we be notified ahead of time if they get to perform on Saturday or Sunday?

A. CTU looks foward to your attendance on all three days at this festival of concerts and dance performances. As mentioned under Note in General Guidelines at CTU 2009 Registration Guidelines, we may not be able to accommodate Individual Performances on Saturday. Depending on various factors, some Individual Performances may have to be re-scheduled to Sunday. Since the exact list of Individual Performances re-scheduled to Sunday will not be known until the end of Saturday, we are not in a position to let you know in advance if your children’s Individual Performance will be on Saturday or Sunday.

11 Apr 2009

13.  One of my students has registered for accompanied performance for violin solo through a different teacher. Will she able to participate in my teacher’s session as one of the group performers?

A.  As mentioned in the CTU 2009 Registration Guidelines — Other than the standard CTU Performances of Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Pancharatna Kritis, Utsava Sampradaya Kritis, Western Orchestra, a participant may perform only once at the Festival. They may perform in

  • a single Teacher Session or
  • a single Group Session or
  • one Individual Performance or
  • one  Accompanied Performance. 

14.  I have 2 students (8 and 5 years) who are interested in attending CTU with their parents.  Please let me know the most effective option that will enable them to perform on Sat May 23/09.

A.  The options that will enable the children to perform on Saturday are:

The links above also provide guidelines on the manner in which time will be allocated for these sessions.  Please note that External Teachers must have at least five students in addition to other requirements to be allocated time for their session.

Thus, in order to enable their students to perform on Saturday, the most effective options for Teachers (local or external) are as follows:

  • Local Teachers can register for a Teacher session or a Group session
  • External Teachers with less than five students can register for a Group Session
  • External Teachers with five or more students can register for an External Teacher session.

15.  Our children’s teacher is going to India during the utsavam time.  Can we register them individually?

A. As mentioned in the guidelines for Teacher Sessions, Teachers must be physically present on stage with their students during their respective Teacher Sessions.   Therefore, you can register them for an individual session, group session or an Accompanied Performance.

24 Apr 2009

16. Do we need any stage practices for Individual Performances?

A.  CTU does not coordinate any stage practices for Individual Performances.  CTU does conduct a Grand Rehearsal for the group performances like the Pancharatna Kritis, Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, Utsava Sampradaya Kritis, Western Orchestra etc.  CTU also requires the Lead Artist for an Accompanied performance to coordinate rehearsals with the accompanying artists prior to the festival. 

07 May 2009

17. Are discounted rates available for senior citizens, students etc?

A. No.  The same rate structure  applies to everyone.

08 May 2009

18. Are there any special rate structures for attending a single concert?

A.  No. The rate for any given day accommodates attendance to all the events on that day.  There is no special rate structure for a single event.

13 May 2009

19. Is the time to set up the mikes, Sruthi box etc. included in the time allocated for the Teacher Session?

A.  Yes.  The time allocated for the Teacher Session includes the time to set up all the required audio connections.  Please note that CTU does its best to do this while a parallel session is in progress on the other side of the stage.

20.  I am a teacher and I have been informed about the time allocated for my Teacher Session.  I have done my best to schedule my students’ performances within the allocated time.  I understand that CTU will enforce the time limit for the Teacher Session.  If, for any reason, some of my students do not get their turn to perform within my Teacher Session, when can they get a chance to perform at the festival?

A.  CTU appreciates all your efforts to schedule your students’ performances in such a way that the total time allocated for your Teacher Session is not exceeded.  Students who do not get a chance to perform within your Teacher Session even though they were physically present at that time in the auditorium can render their performance after all the remaining Teacher Sessions, Group and Individual performances scheduled for the day.  If their performance cannot be accommodated on the first day, they will have an opportunity to perform early morning on Sunday, May 24, 2009.

16 May 2009

21.  What time should my students be there for their performance?

A.  Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam strongly encourages all participants to attend all three days of the festival and partake in the musical festivities.  The 2009 Program Schedule provides the details on the timing for the various events including the Homage to Tyagaraja performances.  CTU is not in a position to share any further detail.  We look forward to your active participation and involvement throughout the festival.

22.  Could you please give us a slot before noon as that is when most of the children are available? A.  Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam will give due consideration to your request.  Please note that we are not in a position to make any commitments regarding the specific time of your performance in addition to the information already provided in 2009 Program Schedule.  Additional detail on the sequence in which performances are scheduled can be obtained at CTU 2009 Registration Guidelines.

08 Jun 2009

23.  We forgot to pick up the certificates for our children’s performance during the Memorial Day music festival.  Please let us know what we can do to pick up these certificates.

Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam appreciates your participation in the Memorial Day music festival.  Please send your child’s first and last name (with the proper spelling), event in which they performed, date of performance to info {AT} tyagaraja-chicago {dot} org.  You may pick up the certificates at the next CTU event at the CTU Front Desk.

25 Jun 2009
24.  My teacher is one of the dance artists who performed during the Memorial Day festival?  Could I please obtain a recording of the performance?
Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam does not provide a recording of the CTU professional performances to anyone.  On a case-by-case basis, we work directly with the professional artists who delivered these performances and try our best to accommodate their specific requests.  Please note that we may not have a complete recording of the event.  Even if we were to provide a recording, we are not in a position to make any commitments regarding the date by which such a recording — if it exists — will be provided. 

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