Neecia Majolly | |
|---|---|
 Majolly performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brunei Darussalam [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Voice |
Neecia Majolly [2] [3] [4] is an Indian concert pianist, [5] [6] conductor, singer, teacher and composer.
Majolly holds an Associate of La Salle (ALS) from the SIA College of the Arts, Singapore in both performance and principles of teaching, an Associate of the London College of Music (ALCM) in music theatre, a Licentiate of the Trinity College, London (LTCL) in piano, voice and principles of teaching, a Licentiate of the Royal School of Music, London in piano, and the Fellowship of the Trinity College, London (FTCL) in piano. [7]
Majolly had several solo performances in Malaysia, Singapore, Western Australia, Brunei, Sweden, USA and India, and accompanied Russian-American violinist Galina Heifetz through India. [8]
As a piano teacher and vocal coach, Majolly has taught at the Delhi School of Music and the Bangalore School of Music. [9] She mainly teaches privately in Bangalore (including vocal training and interpretative workshops), where she has been living since 1995. [9] Majolly was the President of the Bangalore Society of Performing Arts (BSPA), which she founded in 2000, but had to be shut down because of bankruptcy, and was an artistic adviser to the National Philharmonic of India. [7] [9] She also worked as radio presenter of Western Classical Music in New Delhi from 1993 till 1994, [10] as well as critiquing for Deccan Herald and The Indian Express, from 1995 till 1996.[ citation needed ] She was an All-Karnataka representative of the London College of Music Examinations(LCME). [11]
Majolly is the Founder-Trustee of the Majolly Music Trust. [12] [13] The Trust was founded in 2011, to teach young people classical music, fund scholarships for students, open a stage for new artists and provide a pension for retired artists. [14]
Under her baton, two choirs, Madrigals, Etc which specializes in music from the Renaissance period [15] and the Camerata, have "earned a firm reputation in India for being unique in their choice of repertoire and quality of presentation". [8] In 2001 the Camerata-choir staged Handels' "Messiah" in a "mammoth performance" in Bangalore, a comparable event didn't happen in India since then. [16] In October 2009 the choir launched the first ever western classical music album in India, called The Renaissance Begins. [17]
Neecia Majolly's piano album titled "Pure Spa Gold Coast" was published with Universal Audio, USA in 2012, followed by her alternative rock indie-album "Please" in 2017, which was released by her band The Majolly Project. [10] [18] Her third choir, Femusica, which was formed in 2019, is an all-women choir exclusively performing music by women composers. They made their debut in Chennai in September 2019, their performance included the world premiere of Majolly's song "Haiku 1" for mezzo soprano and piano. [10]
In 2021 she founded the Neecia Majolly Centre for Performing Arts (NMCPA) in Bangalore. [19]
In 1992, Majolly was awarded the Stephanie Coleman Prize for Best Graduating Pianist from the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music, Perth. [9] [20] In 1991 she won the Rex Hobcroft Award for Best Pianist at the Inaugural Chamber Music Competition (Western Australian Conservatorium of Music, Perth), and in 2001, the Edgar Fewkes Memorial Award for outstanding musician (voice) in the southern Indian region. [20] Her band The Majolly Project won two Global Music Awards for their debut single "Dark Room" in the categories 'Emerging Global Artist' and 'Best Song'. [21] The song has also been nominated for the IMEA Awards in the 'Rock Song of the Year' category. [22] She also won the World Classical Music Awards in the 'Composition' category. [8]