Young musical talents display their prowess

Chief guest Aly Zaker presents a certificate to Saibu Shayer. PHOTO: STAR

Talking to Saibu Shayer, who received recognition for getting full 100 marks in 2005, one got a glimpse of a talented musician who is committed to his art. What drives him? Apparently he is a great aficionado of a new genre called progressive rock (a step in the evolution of music) exemplified by Jordan Rudess.

"My ambition is to combine genres such as progressive rock, neo-classical, black metal and eastern music," says the elated Shayer who has trained under Timir Nandy, music teacher at SFX Greenherald School and course director of the Academy. His plan is to do a master's in music "like Nandy sir", asserts the young A level student of European Standard School. Nandy is, in fact, a role model for many a student, being the first to teach western classical music in Bangladesh.

Another student, Showla Nazneen (piano and keyboards), was also on cloud nine for receiving a commendation for getting the highest marks in 2004. In her words, "I am thrilled at getting this distinction. Initially I was nervous and couldn't think of such a prize but the encouragement of my parents and teachers saw me through."

The evening at the Russian Cultural Centre was marked by speeches from ad and theatre personality, Aly Zaker, the chief guest and special guests S Prabagar (chief operating officer of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, which sponsored the show) and Omer Farook, ex-director (Music and Dance) Shilpakala Academy, Silverine Shrikanthan, principal of the Silverstar Academy and representative, Trinity College and Timir Nandy.

The articulate Aly Zaker said he had an exposure to both western and eastern classical music. He pointed out that if one could draw inspiration from Silverstar, the future of the "abysmal" music scene would be brighter. He nurtured the hope that Eastern and Western music traditions would come together.

"Let this be a starting point. May Bangladeshi students like these today be the torchbearers for future generations," said Zaker.