Wow!! The POD Squad gave a truly tremendous recital this year. All their hard work paid off in ways I couldn't have imagined!
This year I gave every class some big goals in their performance. There was a lot of back-and-forth playing in larger groups and some very challenging duets. We took inspiration from the performances given by students of my gurubhais in India, as well as the performances of great masters like Pandit Suresh Talwalker and his students. In every case, the students stepped up and did a fabulous job. When it came time to make a highlights reel of the concert, I had a terribly hard time keeping the length down because every performance was so beautifully done, with so many amazing moments. In the end, eight and a half minutes was the best I could do.
This year the advanced students performed only in odd taals: we chose 7, 10, and 14 beats for their performances. In most cases I gave them fresh material with only a few months to prepare, and they did it without a problem. I feel like they grew a great deal as a class and I was super pleased with their efforts. Afficionados will especially appreciate the groups who played Delhi peshkar in Rupaktal (7 beats).
Speaking of peshkar, this year I gave rudimentary peshkar developments to first year students to perform in groups. I hope this will give them a head start in learning more advanced peshkar developments next year. We used the peshkar format as a means of practicing all their basic bols and it even included a rela, or drum-roll style composition.
The level 2 students though: they really outdid themselves this year. Poetry on Drums is truly blessed to have a lot of ambitious, motivated students at this level who are working very hard. Some of them are only seven and eight but playing well above their age. I see tremendous potential for these classes as they move up the ranks! it gives me great confidence in the instructional format I have developed for my students over these past years because I can see it working so well.
Last but not least, I was very proud of my adult students who gave a superb rendition of the famous Delhi kaida "Dha tete." These guys worked so hard outside of class and it really showed. In the excitement of performance they blew way past the speed goal I had set for them, but they pulled off the performance without any problems whatsoever. I think it proves that it's never too late to learn, provided we keep at it!
I'm already looking forward to our next recital. It's going to be so fun to compare this year's videos to next year's and see all the amazing progress again!
