Last Updated: 5th Oct 2007
19th May 2007
1. What must I do to register for the competition?
A. a) Register for the competition after registration opens on 19th May 2007. b) Submit demo entries from 19th May 2007 through June 30th 2007.
2. Is there a fee for the Competition?
A. Thanks to the sponsorship of the Competition by the Meenakshi Ganesan Foundation Endowment Fund, there is no fee for the Competition.
3. Is there a time limit for the entries?
A. There is no time limit for the entries submitted in the demo entry. CTU will establish time constraints, if necessary, and communicate them to the contestants after the number of qualifying contestants for the Live Competition is determined. Please also read Q#29.
4. Should selected contestants perform their demo entry submission in the Live Competition?
A. Percussion. Contestants in the Percussion category must perform their demo entry submission in the Live Competition. Vocal and Instrumental. Depending on the level, the demo entry is the only entry (Level 1) or one of two (Level 2) or three (Level 3) entries selected by the contestant. Level 1 contestants must perform the demo entry. The judges determine what the Level 2 and Level 3 contestants perform in the Live Competition.
5. Is the demo entry required for all categories?
A. Yes, the demo entry is required for all entries in all categories – Vocal, Instrumental and Percussion.
6. What should the demo entry contain?
A. The full name of the participant, Kriti, Ragam and Talam should be recorded in the demo entry followed by its performance by the contestant. See also response to Q. 46.
7. Can a contestant participate in multiple events: namely, Vocal and Violin?
A. Yes. A contestant can participate in any number of levels across all categories. Each entry will be evaluated on its own merit by the judges. However, they will get a chance to perform only once if selected by the judges to perform live.
8. When will the list of qualifying contestants for the Live Competition be announced?
A. Subject to the timely communication of the demo entry results by the respective judges, CTU is planning on announcing the names of the contestants who will perform on the Live Competition during the week of Sep 3rd 2007.
9. Will the time at which a contestant is going to perform on the Live Competition day be announced beforehand?
A. No. CTU has to go through and order the performances in the entries taking several criteria into account. This will take some time including last minute requests etc. Therefore, CTU will not be providing the exact time of performance in advance. CTU requests all families to encourage all the young contestants by attending the entire live competition.
10. Who is going to select the contestants for the Live Competition?
A. A panel of professional experts independent of CTU.
11. Who is going to be the judge at the Competition?
A. A panel of professional experts independent of CTU.
12. What are the criteria by which the contestants would be evaluated?
A. Some of the criteria used during CTU 2006 Music Competition are: Kriti, Sruthi Suddam, Laya Suddam, Bhavam, Diction, Instrument Handling, Kalapramanam, Manodharmam and Overall Presentation. This year’s judges will review these criteria and make any necessary adjustments to define the criteria for CTU Competition 2007.
13. When will the prizes be distributed?
A. Prizes will be distributed at the next CTU event following the competition. We are in the process of working out the logistics of the next CTU event. Competition winners can receive their prizes from the performing artist at any future CTU event. Once the final results are announced, out-of-state winners may informally receive their prizes if they are not in a position to attend the next CTU event. This means that these winners will not receive their prizes from the performing artist in front of a wider audience attending a CTU event.
14. How do I determine the Level at which my child should perform?
A. This is a decision to be made by the teacher of the child in question.
15. Does the contestant have to bring their own Shruthi box?
A. They don’t have to. If they do, they can use their own. If not, CTU can provide a Shruthi box.
16. Does the contestant have to bring their own Talometer?
A. Contestants performing on the Mridangam or an equivalent percussion instrument can use their Talometer, if they so desire. CTU can provide a Talometer. The audience will be requested to not put the Talam during the competition.
17. When will the contestants know how they performed?
A. Subject to the judges properly documenting the results in detail, CTU can share this information upon request directly with the contestant on or before 31st Dec 2007. Please see response to Q. 34.
18. Are past winners allowed to participate in the competition?
A. Yes.
19. Is CTU expecting a studio recording quality for the demo entry?
A. Plain audio recording would be acceptable. CTU strongly encourages the contestants to ensure that the recording can be heard clearly by the judges without any background noise. It is also important to ensure that the full name of the participant, Kriti, Ragam and Talam can be clearly heard in the recording.
20. Is this competition only for people from MidWest or can people all over USA take part?
A. Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam welcomes children from all over the world to participate in this competition. This includes children who are briefly visiting North America from other parts of the world.
21. What happens to entries received after June 30th 2007?
A. The contestants are solely responsible for ensuring that CTU receives entries including the website registration AND the demo entry by 30th June 2007 for them to be properly processed in a timely fashion. CTU will process all entries received on or before 30th June 2007. CTU will not process any Web registrations after 30th June 2007. Demo entries received after 30th June 2007 for entries already entered in the Web may be processed only on an exceptional first come-first serve basis at CTU’s discretion, as long as they do not introduce additional delays into the Competition schedule.
22. How will we know that our entries have been accepted for the Competition?
A. All entries for which CTU receives the Web Registration and the demo entry by the 30th June 2007 will be accepted as long as the instructions outlined have been followed properly. Contestants whose entries have been accepted will be informed by e-mail before Aug 15th 2007.
23. Is there a place to stay for out-of-state visitors or should we look into it ourselves?
A. CTU always tries its best to provide a homely atmosphere for visiting artists and music lovers. We will do our best to accommodate out-of-state visitors. We will be in a better position to address this issue after we have an idea about the number of visiting families.
24. Are the contestants classified by age groups?
A. No, they are not. There are several factors based on which contestants could be grouped including their age. In order to keep the process simple, CTU has decided to not group contestants by any one of these factors.
25. A contestant has submitted demo entries in multiple categories and/or levels. Can the contestant perform all the entries that qualify for the Live Competition?
A. No. A contestant can perform only one entry in the Live Competition. If multiple entries submitted by a contestant get selected for the Live Competition, CTU requests the contestant to pick the single entry that (s)he will perform in the Live Competition. CTU looks to maximize the number of contestants in the Live Competition.
26. We have submitted multiple demo entries from the same e-mail address. However, we got only one e-mail from CTU acknowledging receipt. How do we know that all our entries have been received and processed by CTU?
A. CTU has worked with the contestants to ensure that there is a matching audio entry for every unique Web registration. If there are Web Registrations without matching audio entries or audio entries without matching Web Registrations, we have contacted the respective families to resolve the issue. If you have submitted multiple Web Registrations and we have not contacted you about any issues, you can safely assume that we have received all your entries. We do not plan on sending an e-mail for each entry you submitted. Therefore, you will receive only one acknowledgement e-mail regardless of the number of entries you submitted.
27. Is there a time limit for the performance at Live Competition?
A. Time limits for the Live Competition will be provided after the number of contestants in the Live Competition have been determined. Please note that the judges have the option to request the contestant to stop at any time during the performance.
28. When will the prizes be distributed?
A. Prizes will be distributed at the CTU event following the Live Competition.
29. How many contestants are there per level/category at the live competition? Can you publish the names on the website accordingly to get a better understanding of the process?
A. The number of contestants depends on the number of entries submitted and vary by level/category. CTU does not make this information available until the day of the live competition.
30. Will you announce the names of winners after the competition or do we have to wait till the following day to find out?
A. CTU will announce the names of winners during the Prize Distribution ceremony.
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31. Can you please ask the judges to comment on the areas where the contestant needs to improve? This will improve the contestant’s chances of qualifying next time.
A. CTU appreciates the effort put in by the contestants and their families in participating in the competition. In the spirit of providing an opportunity for the contestants to grow their talent, CTU works with the judges to obtain their perspective on the performance of the individual contestants with respect to various evaluation criteria. After the competition, CTU will communicate the process by which these performance details may be requested and obtained – to the extent that we receive them from the judges.
32. How strictly will the specified time limit be enforced? The submissions did not have time limits. It is difficult to stay within the time exactly for some songs. Will there be any relaxation for such cases? Also, last year, many participants, including the winners, exceeded the time limits.
A. The time limits are a mechanism to maximize the number of children given an opportunity to perform in the Live Competition while keeping within practical constraints of having the requisite infrastructure like the premises, judges etc. These limits also ensure that the contestant has a reasonable amount of time to demonstrate their talent. CTU intends to enforce the time limits in the least intrusive manner. The judges have the option to request the contestant to stop even before the stipulated number of minutes has been consumed. Please note that the completion of the Kriti within the stipulated time is not a criterion. The extent to which the musical aspects are highlighted during the performance is more important – see also response to Q. 11.
33. When and where will the instrumental competitions (string & percussion) be conducted?
A. All the performances in all levels and categories including vocal, instrumental and percussion will be held at Balaji Temple, Aurora, IL on Saturday, 6th Oct 2007 at 1 PM.
34. Could CTU share the feedback provided by the judges? Updated: 5th Oct 2007.
A. Yes. CTU can share the feedback provided by the judges to the extent that it is available. If you are interested in the detailed feedback on the performance of a contestant, please send an e-mail to request@tyagaraja-chicago.org between 7th Oct and 15th Oct 2007 with the following information: First Name, Last Name, Kriti(s), Ragam, Thalam, Level, Category and Instrument (if applicable). CTU will communicate the feedback for the specific entry only by e-mail on or before 30th Nov 2007. Please note that CTU can provide the available feedback only to e-mails received between 7th Oct and 15th Oct 2007 from the e-mail address registered on the Web for the Competition to request@tyagaraja-chicago.org with all the details requested for entries that can be unambiguously matched.
29th May 2007
35. Is it possible for a contestant to pick a song from a higher level and perform at a lower level? Can a contestant select a song from Level 3 and perform at Level 1 or Level 2?
A. No. The contestant has to participate in the Level corresponding to the song selected.
36. Do the contestants have to perform Alapanai, Neraval and Kalpana Swaram in Levels 2 or 3?
A. No. Contestants are requested to not perform Alapanai, Neraval and Kalpana Swaram regardless of the Level they participate in. They only have to render the Kritis selected corresponding to the Level they are participating in.
37. Web page does not stipulate the requirement for recording two tracks — one each for the intro and the actual track. Is this a requirement or not?
A. Competition Details has been updated. Please send recording on two separate tracks. Also see response to Q. 46.
38. Your website states Students in K-12 school grade in Fall 2007 can participate. Can you please clarify whether adults are eligible as well?
A. Adults are not eligible to participate in this competition.
39. I was wondering what types of questions the judges would ask the participant if she was in the vocal category. If you could provide previous questions or question examples, that would be great.
A. This is the first time that interactive Q&A is being introduced at a CTU Music Competition. The judges at the Live Competition will determine the questions posed.
40. Our son has been trained well on a song that has been classified in Level 2. However, he cannot do alapana or niraval or answer questions on theory. Does that mean he cannot participate this year?
A. See response to Q 36. He does not have to do alapana or niraval in Level 2. As mentioned on Competition Details, the judges at the Live Competition may engage him in interactive Q&A. He can definitely participate in the level determined by the Kriti of his choice.
3rd June 2007
41. Can a contestant appear for the same level every year?
A. Since the structure of the levels in 2007 is different from what it was in previous years, contestants can appear in any level(s) of their choice this year. CTU policy for the coming years will be defined later.
42. Is there an age limit to appearing in a particular level?
A. No. See also the response to Q #24.
43. Is it possible to get the CD of the 2004, 2005 or 2006 entire live contest?
A. No. This is not available for distribtution.
44. Is it possible to listen to any of the past winner’s songs on the web? I want to know if this contestant’s song is good enough to send.
A. CTU has not posted the winners’ songs from past years on the web. Nevertheless, CTU would strongly encourage you to submit this contestant’s entry in the interest of promoting participation. It is a valuable experience for the children and it will prepare them better for other competitions in the future.
17th June 2007
45. The contestant is currently visiting India and will be back in the end of July. Can I select the song and e-mail the mp3 recording upon the contestant’s return within the 1st week of August?
A. The registration deadline for demo entries is 30th June 2007. Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam works with the professional artists to rank the demo entries. The availability of the professional artists to perform this ranking is one of the many factors to be taken into account when establishing the time required to process the demo entries. As mentioned in the response to Q.8, we are planning on announcing the names of the contestants who will be performing in the Live Competition during the week beginning the 3rd of Sep 2007. This is so that out-of-state participants can take advantage of economical deals for airfares etc. In order to do this, it is important that we receive all the entries for subsequent processing by 30th June 2007. Given that we are accepting mp3 recordings over e-mail, we would strongly urge you to consider having the recording e-mailed from India before the upcoming deadline. See also: Response to Q. 21.
25th June 2007
46. Should I e-mail two different mp3 file attachments when I submit my demo entry?
A. Yes. One attachment should contain the contestant name, song name, ragam, thalam and the other attachment should contain the recording of the demo entry itself.
26th June 2007
47. Can the demo entries be in .wav format?
A. No. As mentioned in the CTU Competition Guidelines, the demo entries must be submitted in the mp3 format. This is in the interest of timely processing of the demo entries by following a finite set of well-defined steps for each entry. Please see the response to Q. 45 for additional context.
29th June 2007
48. Have you started with the song lists this year or has it always been there? Do you update with a new song list every year?
A. CTU introduced the list of kritis by level this year. This was not there in previous years. Please visit Archives->Competition at http://www.tyagaraja-chicago.org/ for details on previous years’ competitions. Updates to this list in the years to come, if any, will be determined and applied before the registration period for the given year’s competition.
8th July 2007
49. Does the complete performance have to be submitted as part of the demo entry or is a sample of the performance adequate?
A. The complete performance has to be submitted as part of the demo entry. Please note that the judges can only go by the content submitted by the contestant while processing the demo entries.
9th Aug 2007
50. Will contestants be asked to perform Alapana, Neraval or Kalpana Swarams during the interactive Q&A sessions for the Level 2 and Level 3 contestants in the Live Competition?
A. CTU will inform the judges that the contestants have been requested to not perform Alapana, Neraval or Kalpana Swarams as mentioned in the response to Q. 36. However, as mentioned in the response to Q. 39, please note that the questions posed to Level 2 and Level 3 contestants will ultimately be determined by the judges.
26th Aug 2007
51. I have submitted demo entries in multiple levels and categories and have been selected to perform in the Live Competition. Which level/category am I performing in?
A. CTU will notify you about the specific level/category you are performing in by Sep 3rd 2007.
52. What are the time limits for each level in the Live Competition?
A. Time limits for the various levels are as follows during the Live Competition: Level One: 4.5 minutes, Level Two: 6 minutes and Level Three: 7.5 minutes. Please note that the judges have the option to request the contestants to stop at any time during the performance.
27th Aug 2007
53. I saw that my child’s name is in the list of contestants for the competition but I have not received any e-mail from CTU. Could CTU please confirm this?
A. The general announcement on the website and the subsequent e-mail to the ctuinfo@yahoogroups.com is the formal communication of the lists of contestants being selected for the competition. If you are not already part of the ctuinfo@yahoogroups.com, CTU will strongly encourage you to register your contact information. CTU will be using e-mail to communicate with contestants on an individual basis should the need arise.
54. CTU has requested contestants to inform their non-availability. Is there a second list soon to be published, if there are any cancellations? Is this the first list or the final list?
A. CTU looks to maximize the number of contestants who perform in the competition within the time available. Should there be contestants who notify CTU in advance about their inability to attend and perform at the competition, CTU will try to accommodate other deserving contestants in their place provided the logistical changes entailed can be accommodated in a timely fashion. Please understand that CTU is not in a position to predict if and when there will be revisions to the list.
30th Aug 2007
55. If I qualified to participate in multiple levels and categories, will CTU inform me about all the levels and categories in which I qualified?
A. CTU will notify you about the specific level/category you are performing in by Sep 3rd 2007. CTU is working on the process by which the information about other levels and categories you qualified in will be communicated on Oct 6th 2007.
5th Oct 2007
Responses to Q.17 and Q.34 updated.