Melomania 8.0: Music, Rhythm and Glory

Hope Academy bags Rock Beat Contest title, dance-off crownDimapur, October 17 (MExN): The eighth edition of Melomania, the annual music festival of Hope Academy, concluded after two days of performances and workshops on October 15 and 16. The host school emerged as the overall winner of the Inter-School Rock Beat Contest and bagging the top prize in the Inter-School Dance-Off.Hope Academy won the Rock Beat Contest and received a cash award of Rs 50,000, while Model Higher Secondary School, Kohima, finished as the first runners-up with Rs 30,000. In the Dance-Off held on the opening day, Hope Academy was declared the winner with a cash prize of Rs 20,000, followed by Christian Higher Secondary School as the first runners-up with Rs 15,000 and St Mary’s Higher Secondary School as the second runners-up with Rs 10,000.The Rock Beat Contest featured 14 participating schools, including The Maple Tree School, Hollotoli School, Don Bosco Hr Sec School, Little Spring School Zunheboto, St. Joseph Hr Sec School Chümoukedima, Christian Hr Sec School, St Mary’s Hr Sec School, Patkai Hr Sec School, Stepping Stones School, Livingstone Foundation International, Model Hr Sec School Kohima, Shalom Public School and Mount Mary Hr Sec School Chümoukedima. The bands were judged by Sahil Samuel aka Naayalak, Vishal Kar, and Merithung Murry, Jerry and Temjen Lemtur from Resvalni Band.Individual honours for exceptional musical talent, each carrying a cash prize of Rs 5,000, were awarded to Shisayanger Longkumer of Model Hr Sec School as Best Guitarist, Bulem Denlung Ailly of Hope Academy as Best Bassist, Rovisieno Chucha of Model Hr Sec School as Best Keyboardist, Rachel Oungh of Hope Academy as Best Vocalist, Imtimenba Longchar of Christian Hr Sec School as Most Promising Artist and Zhapulhubi Sakhrie of Hope Academy as Best Drummer.The Dance-Off on October 15 witnessed participation from nine schools — Shemrock School, Christian Higher Secondary School, Spring Blossoms Academy, The Maple Tree School, St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Hope Academy, Mount Mary Hr Sec School, Hollotoli School and Christina Memorial Higher Secondary School. The performances were evaluated by a panel of judges comprising Nabanita Sarkar Das from Guwahati, Assam, Rajesh Flick from Manipur and Thomas Basumatary from Assam.The day also featured workshop sessions with songwriter Luli from Trance Effect and guitarist Toshimoa from Wishes and Dreams.The second day commenced with a welcome address by School Captain Apuvi, followed by an address by Principal Director Sashi, who extended gratitude to the judges, sponsors, participating schools, teachers, Students Council, housekeeping staff and everyone involved in making the event a success. She also remembered late Kuchi Zeliang, a dear friend of Hope Academy, and dedicated this edition of the festival to him as a mark of respect and love.Melomania, which began in 2019 with the aim of providing a platform to the talented musicians of Nagaland, has over the years become a significant cultural event for young artists. The event is the vision of the school’s Principal Director, who envisioned an umbrella under which young artists and aspiring musicians could come together to showcase, collaborate and celebrate music.The festival culminated with guest performances by Naga rock band Resvalni, indie rock band Naayalak and Trance Effect (Nagaland).