Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty announcing the soiree on Monday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Around 900 students, 8,000 enthusiasts and a sprinkling of stars will come together at Netaji Indoor Stadium for a two-day classical music concert organised by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty to mark the 10th anniversary of his school Shrutinandan.

Tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Carnatic vocalist M. Balamuralikrishna will light the inaugural lamps on December 30 and 31 that will see recitals, felicitations, lecture demonstrations, documentary screening and a mingling of the music-minded.

Among the star performers are tabla exponent Ustad Zakir Hussain, Balamuralikrishna, Ustad Rashid Khan and Kaushiki Chakrabarty Desikan. Those to be felicitated include Manna De, Girija Devi and Ravi Kichlu.

“But this is essentially a programme revolving around our students. We want to showcase the results of 10 years of our training and hard work,” said Chakrabarty, who is expecting listeners from the US, Canada and the UK. Some of them would be his students; a few are also likely to perform.

The most distinct feature of the concert would be chorus recitals of several classical forms, like khayal and thumri, by groups of around 200 children.

“Along with my wife Chandana and daughter Kaushiki, I have been relentlessly training the children for the past one year for this. We have come across a number of talented singers hailing from families without any musical background,” said Chakrabarty.

Around 1,000 students of Shrutinandan will take part in the music recitals in languages as diverse as Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Persian and even English. The range of forms is also wide — dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, thumri, tillana, tarana, geet and ghazal.

“At Shrutinandan, I start taking children from age four. It’s very important to start early and for the student to have a congenial background,” added Chakrabarty, who encourages the families of his students to take part in the music appreciation classes conducted at the Golf Club Road address.