Date:27/06/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/06/27/stories/2009062752280200.htm

Kerala - Thrissur

U.S.-based student to perform music show on home turf

Staff Reporter

Nishad George

Thrissur: Guitarist Nishad George, a 11th-grade student at the Kings Academy in Sunnyvale, California, will perform here on Saturday.

Mr. George, with roots in Thrissur, is performing for the first time on home turf.

The 16-year-old, who has already composed many music tracks of his own, will perform rock and metal music on his guitar at the one-hour performance at the Regional Theatre.

His performance will include three songs composed by him and seven popular songs by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and even a Tamil song from the film Varam Ayiram.

Piano, a cultural organisation formed in memory of musician Philip V. Francis, organises the programme, Blooms. Babu Varghese on jazz drums, Johnson John on rhythm guitar and C. T. Francis on bass guitar will accompany the guitarist.

The up-and-coming guitarist has associated with his veena tutor Shubashini Gunapu and Purna Prasad to record a few compilation tracks. Though it is his first major public performance, as a member of Knights Brigade, his school’s band, he had conducted many programmes.

He is also a member of an Carnatic-Western Music Fusion Band. Son of George Koshi of Kottayam and Sujatha Menon of Thrissur, he is currently studying music composition, and the application and fusion of Western classical, South Indian classical and Progressive Rock.

A die-hard fan of Steve Vai, Jason Becker and Alexi Laiho, he was awarded a merit scholarship to the Summer Performance Programme at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, U.S.A.

Mr. George was first taught to play the guitar by his father and later learnt classical guitar under John McCrae, a student of the world-renowned Christopher Parkining.