https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Music_Academy
Founding: The academy's origin traces back to a 1927 music conference held alongside the All India Congress Session in Madras. The idea for a formal institution emerged from this conference, leading to its official establishment on August 18, 1928.
Purpose: It was founded to set standards for Carnatic music and promote the arts.
Madras Music Season: The academy began hosting annual music conferences in 1929, which established the tradition of the annual December Music Festival in Madras.
Concerts would be held at various venues at different places every year, before the Madras Music Academy settled on its present venue at T T.K. Road.
Music Academy used to hold concerts in a specially erected pandal in the PS high school grounds.
Although the season was initially held during March/April (the Tamil month of Panguni), the timing of the season was later changed to December (the Tamil month of Maargazhi) due to more favourable weather conditions and the likelihood of attracting more tourists during this period.
Previously it was a traditional month-long Carnatic music festival solely consisting of Carnatic music concerts, harikathas, lecture demonstrations (otherwise known as lec-dems) and award/title ceremonies. However, over the years it has also diversified into dance and drama, as well as non-Carnatic art forms, and is now of a duration of at least six weeks.
Confers the prestigious Sangeetha Kalanidhi Award, considered the highest honor in the field of Carnatic music. In 1968, M. S. Subbulakshmi was the first woman to receive the Sangeetha Kalanidhi.
The Music Academy has been instrumental in shaping the curriculum, structure, and evolution of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam performances,
They a run a music school called the Teachers college of Carnatic Music for advanced training in music and dance, research initiatives, and workshops for students and scholars.
has many eminent musicians on its faculty. Musicians such as Tiger Varadachariar, Appa Iyer, Valadi Krishnaiyer and Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer adorned the chair of Principal of the Teacher's College.
The margazhi season every year begins on 16th December ands on January 1st. Earlier dance was included in the program. Later dance festival was separated. To my knowledge dramas were not included.
The Academy permitted artists only from a particular community. This strict policy was the reason for the establishment of Tami, Isai sangam.
awards
in 1993 that the academy also started giving out the Sangita Kala Acharya title. It is awarded to 2 or 3 senior musicians every year.
Nritya Kalanidhi: Since 2012, the academy has been recognising dancers with the Natya Kala Acharya title. A separate Dance conference is held in the first week of January. This award was renamed to Nritya Kalanidhi.
Vaggeyyakkara Award
Musicologist Award
Spirit of Youth-festival of Dance and Music: During the October of every year nearly 40 young artists are projected by the academy for their Classical Music and Dance talent.
Special TTK Award
Special Life Time Achievement award: This award has been conferred on only 3 people:
Kumari Kamala
Lalgudi Jayaraman
T. H. Vinayakram
Best Artiste Award
Music Welfare
R. R.Talent Promotion Scheme: Two talented artists are selected by the academy and are sponsored for coaching under an eminent musician chosen by the academy. At the end of the training period the artists get to perform in the academy.
Teacher's College of Music is a school run by the academy for offering certified courses on vocal, violin and mridangam.
Books: The academy conducts research on Music and publishes their findings. Some of the academy's publications:
The Ragas of Sangita Saramrta, a book written by King Tulaja I.
Lakshana Gitas
Raga Lakshanas
The December Music Season was reported in The Hindu almost from the inception of such a concept in the 1920s. By the 1970s, the pattern had been set, with a plethora of music reviews, most of them penned by the redoubtable NM Narayanan (NMN). No mean musician himself, his views carried weight. In retrospect, his long introductions to the review proper, often harking back to the music of yore make for most interesting reading and sometimes overshadow the concert being reported on. He has also penned numerous essays on music and some of these raise questions that are valid even today.