Crescendo competition

Thirteen-year-old violinist Sarosh Mistry who made his solo debut at the Weil Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall performing Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Minor, won the first prize in the under 18 category in the Crescendo International Music Competition (CIMC). There were hundreds of instrumentalists from more than 15 countries who participated in this prestigious competition in New York.
From November 2017 to February 2018 the competitions were held throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Canada, Europe and Asia, as stated on the CIMC website. The CIMC is open to all instrumentalists (piano, strings and winds), duets, ensembles and vocalists from age five to 22. As per their rules, "One selection of Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Modern work must be chosen and performed from memory (arrangements, simplified editions, popular music and/or non-classical music from method books are not acceptable)… Performance time should not exceed six minutes. Fines of $100 will be charged for each additional minute in accordance to Carnegie Hall regulations.” While the grand prize carried a cash gift of $ 5,000, the first prize $ 3,000, second prize $ 1,000 and third prize $ 500.

Sarosh Mistry at Carnegie Hall, accompanied by Anna Vasilyeva

During the finals on January 21, 2018 Sarosh was accompanied on the piano by Anna Vasilyeva who had practiced with him the weekend before. Seated among the audience at the "iconic venue” which is known for its acoustics was his "amazing teacher” Nancie Lederer who has been giving him private lessons for the last four years. "She is patient but strict and goes over every detail to prepare me for all auditions, performances and competitions,” Sarosh was quoted in The Progress, the local New Jersey paper.
With a love for classical music ingrained in him by his Bombay based grandparents Bhikhoo and Kersi Treasurywala, Sarosh has been playing the violin since the age of five. Over the years he has performed with the New Jersey Youth Orchestra, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Southern California Youth Philharmonic and the Irvine Unified School District’s Honors Orchestra, frequently playing as principal first or second violin. He has even been concertmaster for his Elementary and Middle School orchestras. He spends summers training with the Chamber Music Institute in Orange County, California, The New Jersey Youth Symphony Summer Camp and plans to attend the Pre-College Summer Program at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City this year.
An Honors student in eighth grade at West Essex Middle School in New Jersey, he resides with his mother Scheherazade who is a tenured professor at a New Jersey University, father Cyrus who is a banker, and younger sister Sanaya.
Although acclaimed for his "technical excellence,” "bold and rich tone,” and conferred an award for Fastest Fingers, he does not wish to pursue a career in music. "I love performing but I would like to play as a hobby. I have many other interests that I want to spend time on,” he responded to Parsiana’s queries. He plays USTA (United States Tennis Association) Team Tennis and enjoys playing his Xbox (a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft), according to his life profile. Regarding his career plans, the youngster is not certain but expresses a wish to "pursue a career in technology, focusing on either virtual reality or cognitive computing.”
A regular at community events organized by the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York and the Zoroastrian Association of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Sarosh mentions, "I attend prayer classes every month where we learn not only the prayers, but also the history of the religion which I find fascinating. When we lived in California, we attended humbandagi every Sunday morning with Zarrir Uncle (Bhandara) at the ZAC (Zoroastrian Association of California) Center. Sarosh had impressed the audience when he performed solos for the North American Zoroastrian Congress in New York in 2012 and in Los Angeles in 2014.
Critics’ choice
Rick and Morty, one of the shows animated by Bardel, the animation studio created by Barry Ward and Delna Bhesania, recently won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Animated TV series on January 11, 2018, as announced on the website of Animation World Network awn.com. Additionally two of its episodes were selected for two of the 35 Annie Awards announced on February 3, 2018 at the University of California’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. The Ricklantis Mixup episode won the "Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production” and the Pickle Rick episode for "Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production.”
As highlighted on the Bardel website, "Bardel began animating Rick and Morty Season 3 in June of 2016. With a team of 75 people, the crew quickly jelled, becoming diehard fans themselves. The passion the team brought to their work is evident in this whacky show that has delighted fans across the globe.” Bardel’s contribution encompassed "all production which includes asset builds, backgrounds, layout, posing, animation through final composite.” According to them, "Rick and Morty’s third season delivered Adult Swim (the adult-oriented nighttime programing block of the American children’s cable network Cartoon Network, operating daily 8 p.m.–6 a.m.) its highest ever ratings, making the cartoon the number one comedy on television with adults aged 18 to 24 and 18 to 34.”
The serial that has been running since 2013 revolves around Rick, a sociopathic scientist, who after going missing for 20 years has moved into the house of his daughter Beth and her husband Jerry. He uses their garage as his personal laboratory where he creates a number of sci-fi gadgets, some of which could be considered dangerous. He also goes on adventures across the universe that often involve his grandchildren, Morty and Summer.
Having inspired video games, top-selling apparel lines at Spencer’s and Hot Topic stores, a virtual reality game and a comic book series, Rick and Morty’s fourth season is expected to debut in 2019.