Chitravina virtuoso N. Ravikiran, along with music teacher Vanita Suresh and local students Arjun and Sanjay, spoke with Peter Haney May 28th about the Planet Symphony Project. Maestro Ravikiran is the creator of the Melharmony system, which seeks universal principles to harmonize all scales of the world, blending the harmonic focus of Western music with the melodic emphasis of South Asian traditions. Concerned about the escalating effects of climate chaos, the composer created a roughly eight-minute symphonic work using 72 different scales and invited musicians all over the world to download the score and send in audio clips of brief selections along with images of the crisis. The resulting edited recording was released on World Environment Day, June 5th. Contributors to the project include noted musicians from the U.S., Europe, South Asia, and many other countries, along with school orchestras from a variety of locations, including many in the Madison area. In the future, the Planet Symphony will raise funds for organizations that seek solutions to global warming through benefit concerts and other efforts. One such event will be a November 9th and 10th Melharmony festival at Madison’s Memorial High Auditorium and the Middleton High School Performing Arts Center, featuring the noted Carnatic violinist L. Shankar. More information is available through the Planet Symphony Facebook group.
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