The three-day fourth Asia Music Summit began at Capital Cultural Hall (CCH) here on Thursday where Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio was special guest at the inaugural programme.
Addressing the event, Rio expressed excitement as host of the fourth edition of the music summit, which was one of the biggest and most high-profile events that Nagaland was hosting, particularly in the field of art and music.
Rio also said he was delighted to see participants from more than a dozen countries, more 20 bands, dozens of musicians and renowned artistes who would be performing at the event.
Rio also admitted that he was particularly pleased to learn that a number of talented musicians from Nagaland would be performing to an exclusive audience which comprised of captains of the music industry from around the world. He asserted that art and music have always been a way of life for Naga people since time immemorial and that they played a central role in all their activities.
“Stories have been passed down from one generation to another through songs. This tradition continues till today and has been a unifying force for us. It has now emerged as one of our most positive ambassadors to the global community,” he said. Rio also described Hornbill Music Festival as one of the biggest music events of the country, where renowned musicians performed and, at the same time, created opportunities for new talents.
He cited the example of Imnainla Jamir, who has been selected as global ambassador of MasterPeace.
Rio acknowledged that Indian music and the culture went back thousands of years. He said the richness of Indian music , its unique sounds and fusion with tunes of tribal and indigenous people, and blend of traditional and modern had taken the creativity of Indian artistes across the globe.
The chief minister also said the state government was making sincere efforts in promoting art and music for which it had declared music as an industry. He said the government had taken it as a mission to nurture creativity from an early age, carefully allow it to grow and blossom, and then harness it as a collective mission towards societal transformation and creation of opportunities.
He stated, “Today, our musicians and artistes have become national and global ambassadors, who were promoting Brand Nagaland and Naga soft power through their talents.”
Noting that there was an increase in the number of smaller and newer festivals across the globe, he remarked that each of these festivals could generate work for artistes and indirectly offer jobs to people who were not directly engaged in the creative sectors.
He stressed on using the opportunity of networking during the music summit to create prospects for musicians. He hoped that the event would help local artistes nurture their talents and advance their career in the field of art and music.
He congratulated Task Force for Music & Arts (TaFMA) and MusicConnect Asia for the partnership.
In his concluding remark, adviser to chief minister and Investment and Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) chairman Abu Metha and also the adviser of Asia Music Summit Core Committee, mentioned that art, music, and entertainment would be used to spread the message of peace, oneness and unity, because the language of art and music was universal.
Kaushik Dutta, president and founder of MusiConnect Asia and Asia Music Summit, narrated the brief history of the summit and the journey of bringing it to Nagaland. He said one of the prime objective was to ensure that music of Asia found wider appreciation and audience listenership and viewership at a global level.
He said the music summit, currently in its fourth year with an exciting selection of speakers, talks and topics, was a forum for sharing information, events and policy development, bringing together leaders and cultural artistes, thinkers, and performers from around the world.
He acknowledged the challenges and struggles faced by musicians who gave their entire lives to stir the souls of their audience by following their passion.
Earlier, TaFMA chairman Theja Meru gave the welcome address and Imnasenla Rachel delivered the introductory remark.
The event, scheduled from February 1 to 3, was an initiative of MusicConnect Asia and was beinghosted and co-organised by TaFMA.