MILAP

Indian Classical Music Youth Ensemble

Driven by the huge success and overwhelming response from the local community, IPAP Seattle team is excited to present MILAP again in 2025. MILAP (Music of India – Learn and Aspire Project) was an initiative launched by IPAP Seattle in 2024 with the intent of providing a unique opportunity to students residing in the greater Seattle area to learn, share and present their art in a group setting. Being in the company of fellow students, learning singing, melody or percussion instruments, creates a sense of belonging and serves as a catalyst to motivate and inspire students to continue to pursue their respective artform in the years to come.

For the current year, IPAP Seattle team is introducing an adult instrumental ensemble category in addition to two youth groups.

Instructors

Sampada Bhalerao
Deepashri Joglekar
Satyajit Limaye

Program Structure

  1. MILAP teams will be organized into 3 categories:
    • Groups A, B – Youth Instrumental Ensemble (Age 11 to 18)
    • Group C – Adult Instrumental Ensemble (Age 19+)
  2. Team size, selection & composition:
    • Each team will comprise of 10 to 15 students.
    • Instrumental ensemble group, will have an even distribution of various instruments including Bansuri, Harmonium, Sitar, Tabla, Dholki, Sarode, Violin and miscellaneous instruments. Due to space and logistical constraints, we are not considering Keyboards/Piano entries at this time. Guitar entries will be considered so long as the student is able to play Indian Classical music on the Guitar.
    • Students will be selected based on their skill level and commitment to attend all practice sessions and grand finale presentation.
    • Assignment to a particular Group (A, B or C), will be made by the MILAP instructor team. Decision will be based on demo video recording and the skill level of the student compared to other applicants.
  3. Each instrumental category will be assigned up to 10 songs that all students in that category will be expected to learn. Song notation, both text and audio will be available online at the IPAP Seattle webpage
  4. While students will learn all songs assigned to their category, they may not necessarily perform all songs at the grand finale performance. The decision on what songs the students get to perform will be based on:
    • Song orchestration
    • Student readiness

Timeline

  1. Application window: January 20 thru February 7
  2. Applicants will be notified about the selection decision by February 14
  3. Learn & Collaborate – March thru May:
    • In-person learning: Teams will get together twice a month on Sunday afternoons for 1 to 2 hours to practice assigned songs in a group setting.
    • Off-line learning: Syllabus will be available online in the form of text notations as well as audio. Students will be expected to listen & practice assigned songs using the online content prior to attending the group in-person session.
    • Additional in-person practices may be scheduled as needed to ensure students are progressing at the expected pace.
  4. Perform on stage – Saturday, June 7:
    • A grand finale performance will be hosted by IPAP Seattle to give all enrolled students an opportunity to present their skills on stage.
    • Depending on the team size and song selection, instrumental ensemble performance for each team will last for anywhere from half an hour to one hour.

Fees

  1. Fee for the entire course is $300 per student. Fee will cover the following:
    • 2 monthly in-person group sessions, duration 1 to 2 hours spanning a 3-month window. (Total of 6 sessions).
    • Access to on-line learning material in the form of audio & text.
    • Opportunity to participate in the grand finale performance. (Students will not be charged additional fee to participate).
    • Fee payment: Fees to be paid online after the student receives acceptance letter from MILAP team
    • Fees are reimbursable only if MILAP initiative gets cancelled due to unforeseeable events. Exact amount to be reimbursed will depend on the nature & date of the unforeseeable event.


Enrolled Student Expectations

  1. Enrolled students are expected to attend all in-person group sessions. In the event a student is unable to attend a particular session, student is expected to put in the extra effort at home to keep up with the rest of the team’s progress. Missed lessons are not reimbursable.
  2. It is important that each student practice assigned material at home prior to in-person session.
  3. Students are expected to bring their own musical instrument to the practice & grand finale. Students may have to either tune their instrument or purchase a new instrument (typically applies to Bansuri) to ensure they are able to play in the same key as the rest of the team. Instructors will be providing guidance in this regard.
  4. Students are expected to memorize all songs assigned to their group. For practice sessions, students may bring printouts as a temporary aid.

Enrollment Steps:

  • Step 1: Submit your information along with a 3 minute video of your solo performance using this form. Guidelines for video recording:
    • You and your musical instrument needs to be clearly visible for the entire duration.
    • You have the option to perform any genre of India music including classical (raga), semi-classical (Bhajan, dhun) or light (bollywood) song. We are looking for your ability to play/sing a melody with ease in tune and on the beat.
    • You have the option of recording a mix of different genres of music so long as the total duration of the video does not exceed 3 min
  • Step 2: Once you receive approval from MILAP team, pay the fees using the payment button. DO NOT MAKE THE PAYMENT until you get a confirmation email from the MILAP team.
IPAP Seattle is grateful for the generous support provided by the King County 4Culture Team

Questions? Email us at [email protected]