Commerce in carnatic music and factors governing/influencing

Rengarajan · Post by **Rengarajan** » 20 Dec 2007, 08:09

We are now familiar with the word merchant after Sonia's outburst against Modi. The forum may start a general discussion on various merchants of music . This may also include concert offers to musicians by sabhas either on merit or for consideration other than accomplishments in music, Musicians' efforts in getting slots, Press'/ reviewers' influence in promoting specific individuals, presentation of awards and Birudus and its selection process, to mention a few.

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 20 Dec 2007, 11:28

As long as there is a buyer any thing can be sold.

Let's discuss music buyers also

srinivasasarma · Post by **srinivasasarma** » 20 Dec 2007, 12:13

There was a story by shri Sujatha in Kalki someyears ago, explaining how an NRI artist got a slot for getting a concert, the gift items
she passed to sabha secretary, the conditions she had fulfilled to perform the concert and finally the way she talked to her
husband in USA abt her concert over phone that night.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 20 Dec 2007, 13:48

I could have done without the reference to two politicians I prefer not to think about during my time on rasikas.org. I was very familiar with the word merchant long ago, thanks.

Rengarajan · Post by **Rengarajan** » 21 Dec 2007, 07:41

srinivasasarma wrote:There was a story by shri Sujatha in Kalki someyears ago, explaining how an NRI artist got a slot for getting a concert, the gift items
she passed to sabha secretary, the conditions she had fulfilled to perform the concert and finally the way she talked to her
husband in USA abt her concert over phone that night.

Thanks for quoting Sujatha's series of stories titled "madhyamar", reflecting on the mindset of middle class . I recommend this for reading by our members.
Be that it may, the idea of my bringing the subject to the forum is to understand the perception of members - 'cynical , objectiveand humorous'. If there are no takers , let us leave it

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 22 Dec 2007, 20:33

I want to take MA for my discussion, since I rate as the best in judging the peformance. Pride of Musicians...

I want to know the "basis of entry" of the following musicians in the Super prime time 7..00 slot. ? I mean is it the overall performance in the last 11 months or Guru or "push" ?

1) Hyderabad Sisters
2) Vijayalakshmi Subramanian
3) Gayathri Venkatraman
4) T.V.Ramprasad
5) Lakshmi Rengarajan.

What is the status quo of Neyveli Santanagopalan and Hyderabad Brothers, next year...? (Neyveli Santanagopalan in his jaya tv, his speech and Paruppu Satham (Daal Rice) is better than his sangeetham. Hyderabad Brothers-Ragavachari is a mute spectator like most of us).
Why did Bombay sisters, Charumati Ramachandran and yesudos become "extinct" in MA ?
How Sangeetha kalanidhi Srikantan and Sangeetha Kala Acharya Seetha Rajan - were given monring session on a working day ? Do they not necessarily find a place in Prime slot ?
Like this Trichur Ramachandran and Vedavalli- were given morning session on holidays ? Should we be happy ?

What are the "rules and regulations" to be fixed for selection for MA ?

Again, it is just my thought...not offending the credibility of artists..or their performance pl....

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 23 Dec 2007, 00:10

GRS, merely because someone is promoted does not imply politics is involved. Many of us including me have been campaigning for Gayatri's elevation on this forum for a while. How she lives up to is another matter and of course you are entitled to your view on that point. Same goes for the others. I have not heard the Hyd Sisters but other than that I don't think any of the others is undeserving.

Regarding the seniors you mention, there comes an age when the voice is constrained by physical limitations. Since evening slots are largely meant for "laymen" they will not be able to appreciate the vidwath of these artistes. Hence a compromise if worked out by giving them morning slots which are equally prestigious but not targeted at the dabbler.

IMO, the atmosphere at these concerts is excellent - full of music students and the ground floor usually has a good crowd because the concert is free. Moving them to prime slots would be a bad idea. For instance I heard Rama Ravi today, one of the best this season for me. It was good to see so many students and musicians turn up for her concert. If she had been in the evening slot she would have confronted with complaining rasikas wanting to hear abhangs and empty chairs. I genuinely think such artistes would prefer a smaller crowd of discerning rasikas than the gumbal that shows up for the "stars". Let us also keep in mind that plenty of youngsters are waiting in the wings. Keeping veterans in prime slots beyond their normal innings will only block their progress.

It is quite tragic that some senior artistes are not gien these slots and I don't have an answer but Yesudoss I think has been the victim of the change in guard - since his concerts run to packed houses in other venues... As for Hyd Bros and Neyveli Sir, like you I hope they continue in their prime slots for a long time...as of now I don't see any reason why that should not happen.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 23 Dec 2007, 02:14

grsastrigal,

Some of the question you have are answered by the Music Academy president Sri. N. Murali in this interview conducted by Ramanathan. See if this helps you. Ramanathan posted this link in a different thread a few days. back.

http://www.carnatica.net/nvr/season2007/

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 23 Dec 2007, 10:21

I agree with Vijay. The morning slots are for serious music lovers and students. While RKS,Vedavalli and others veterans can enthrall the normal evening slot rasikas , their music has much more appeal to serious rasikas.

Personally if I could I would attend morning & afternoon concerts and spend the evening at home but as it looks this year neither is possible. Water water everywhere not a drop to drink .........

dundubi · Post by **dundubi** » 24 Dec 2007, 12:13

grsastrigal wrote:I want to know the "basis of entry" of the following musicians in the Super prime time 7..00 slot. ? I mean is it the overall performance in the last 11 months or Guru or "push" ?

1) Hyderabad Sisters
2) Vijayalakshmi Subramanian
3) Gayathri Venkatraman
4) T.V.Ramprasad
5) Lakshmi Rengarajan.

Why did Bombay sisters, Charumati Ramachandran and yesudos become "extinct" in MA ?
How Sangeetha kalanidhi Srikantan and Sangeetha Kala Acharya Seetha Rajan - were given monring session on a working day ? Do they not necessarily find a place in Prime slot ?
Like this Trichur Ramachandran and Vedavalli- were given morning session on holidays ? Should we be happy ?

allthough some seniors like OST are still vocally healthy generally it is better for the standard of performance for younger singers to occupy the ticketed slots. lets face it some of the seniors while having lot to offer, cant be relied to give quality performances. vidwath and performing ability are completely different and need not be confused. GV deserves the slot atleast compared to the other suspect entries. dontknow about the sisters or TVRP as not heard them. LR and VS are no springchickens to be promoted now. despite singing in the junior slots for donkeys years their performances have not made any impact and despite of the feverous efforts of the hindhu family viz SVK and Gowreeji who have been holding them up as gods gift to carnatic music amd writing articles in metroplus how they are selflessy sacrificing and upholding carnatic tradition on their shoulders while nurturing their offspring amd not having much time to spend on music !

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 25 Dec 2007, 01:55

One merchant of music that may be missing in the current environment is something that is tremendously useful to both artists and rasikas. I think some form of it already exists. I am referring to 'tour' organizers of various big and medium sized towns in South India. I am sure some of the bigger cities/towns other than Chennai like Coimbatore, Trichi, Madurai and of course Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Bangalore get their fair share of concerts. But what about hundreds of other towns in south india where there is sizable population of CM rasikas?

If I understand the situation right, the way the business works is the sabhas/organizations of individual cities/towns work out their own schedule and invite artists. Many medium/small towns do not have the financial resources to invite a team of mid-tier and top-tier artists all by themselves. What is missing is the umbrella organization who can put together a tour for a team of artists so they can cover an entire sub-region in a span of two to three weeks at a time. This is what happens when the CM artists tour U.S. ( and since we are talking business of music, this is what U.S. based groups of any genre do also. The group tours the U.S. in an organized fashion, one region at a time, in such a way that travel distance and time is optimized. They usually do 4 to 5 concerts a week thus a 60 city tour can be done in 3 to 4 months ).

If such a structure exists, this not alone provides concert opportunities for the top and mid-tier artists ( here the benefit is slightly skewed towards rasikas ) but it provides professional paid concert performing opportunities for up and coming artists as well. If one is looking for a way to measure this, it will be equivalent to the total rasikas attending CM concerts throughout the region. This will make for a thriving music scene thoughout the year and through the south indian region covering a wider spectrum of artists.

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 26 Dec 2007, 10:17

Linking the idea with the "selection process" of MA, I give my suggestions.

I) Prime Time artists- (taking the period of 11 months)

1) An artist who wants to be performed in the prime time- should have perfomed at least 30 concerts, out of which 50% should be in India.
2) At least 20 concerts must have compulsory RTP.
3) At least 10 concerts should be in non-metros -preferably temple concerts in these non-metros.
4) No marriage concerts should be taken in the above "concerts".

For Non-prime time Members.

1) The 30 becomes 40 concerts and the ratio is same.

The list of performance should be given by the artist to MA Board of Directors (?) to be selected for the Prime Time.

If we follow some "rules" like this. Hyderabad Brothers/sisters and few of the other performers would not be figuring the slot.

Again, it is my idea. To put it this way. If Iam appointed as the Chairman of the Board (!!!!), I would invite suggestions like this from the other memebers .....

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 26 Dec 2007, 10:30

grsastrigal: Since you seem to be serious about this, let me engage you a little bit on this. I do not know why you think Hyd Bros would not qualify based on your criteria but let us leave that aside for now. You seem to be focussed on quantity which is the easy part. How about quality which is difficult to judge and in the end what matters is that, isn't it?

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 26 Dec 2007, 10:46

GRS I don't think too many artistes would have trouble meeting your benchmarks unless you mean within a year....but I agree that the process could be improved although a subjective field will always give reasons for complaint. My biggest crib is that Pantula Rama has been overlooked for a prime slot. She is easily one of the best in the business and had sung a fantastic pallavi in the junior slot which many senior musicians were heard praising. Her fellow artiste from Vizag, Manda Sudharanii is also another sorely neglected artiste. I am wondering why someone like Nedunuri has not been able to pull strings for them?

rajumds · Post by **rajumds** » 26 Dec 2007, 13:42

If Balamurali decides to sing for MA, as per your rules he will not get an afternoon slot. It is quality with a capital Q which should decide, not the number of concerts.

The obsession with RTP for concerts in major sabhas has reduced to the level of pallavi to a kriti without anu pallavi and charanam and utilimately RTP may be become a thukkada item if this obsession continues.

kannan1940 · Post by **kannan1940** » 26 Dec 2007, 15:01

In my personal opinion, subject to correction by stalwards in these columns, the PR skills of the artists goes a long way in getting their chances for a performance. This may not be applicable to those who have already gained a place in the carnatic music world. Upcoming musicians are always depends upon the Sabhas and the office bearers for their continued support to stay in the music world.

vgvindan · Post by **vgvindan** » 26 Dec 2007, 17:20

There was once a mullah whose voice was so majestic that everyone praised him. He wanted to test it and one day, after singing namAz started running after his voice to find out how far it reached.
Sure enough, even if it reached all the four quarters, it did not reach the Person to whom it was addressed.

There is an adage with drinkers -
the first drink - You take;
the second one, the drink takes;
the third one takes You.

I am yet to see a musician of a third variety who has been consumed by music.
Any idea whether there is one?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 26 Dec 2007, 18:29

As I think has been amply pointed out, numerical formulae are never going to work for art like this.

Interesting comment from Rajumds on RTP. This should be a major item of the program, at least as long as the major kriti. The ragam should not be short; the tanam should not be short, all the speeds of the pallavi should be there for the mathematicians to enjoy; the neraval should not be short, and the swaras should be extensive.

I recall (ok... i confess to having a recording) an artist on London announcing, "I am going to sing a short ragam tanam pallavi...". I think it was about 40 minutes later she moved on to the lighter pieces of the night

I have noticed one or two rather curtailed examples here of late.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 26 Dec 2007, 23:18

RTP is dying a slow death, at least in the sense it was originally conceived....most artists try it only during the season and more often than not, there is not even a trikaalam. People like TRS and TNS revived it a few years back but now the slide towards oblivion has started again. Youngsters, being used to short concert formats, are uncomfortable with it when they first get onto the big stage...as for the audience, I can almost hear the relief when the mrudangam is picked up after the alaapana!

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 27 Dec 2007, 01:07

You think audiences don't like them?

I can imagine that some might consider the multi-speed pallavi singing to be only an exercise in calculation. Perhaps sometimes it is. Perhaps many aspects of music could be described as exercises in some technical difficulty: it is the musician's art to turn maths into beauty.

But what of the neraval and the swaras; is it the case that audiences like these when presented as part of a kriti, but not when part of an RTP?

Similarly, I don't understand how audiences can applaude the korvai calcualtions in kalpana swara, but run to avoid the same calculations in thani, claiming that they cannot understand them...

What of the tanum; is this unpopular?

If all this is so, then I am very sad about it.

But to return to the topic...

I think kannan1940 is right: a performing artist must not only have music, they must have contacts, relatives, friends, networking, influence --- not so different from other commercial fields, I suppose!

kannan1940 · Post by **kannan1940** » 27 Dec 2007, 12:30

Let MA form a selection committee consisting of senior most vidhwans and music crtics and the upcoming artists to give a short performance-in the presence of this committee say for 30 minutes. Let this committee make a recommendation who should be given which slot. In this process, the improvements in the performance can be gauged Year after Year. If there is an improvement, better slot is recommended. This is just like a promotion in the career.

This selection process should commence well in time and before the program is finalised by MA.
If this successful, other Sabhas would automatically follow the system.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 27 Dec 2007, 13:35

I think that criticism of the MA's selection process is something that should be a thread all on its own.

But, the best way that I can imagine is that artists are selected by persons with great experience, who are very familiar with the current status of any musician because they attend concerts all the year round.

I'm not so naive as to think other considerations play no part at all --- but isn't this, essentially, what happens?

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 28 Dec 2007, 09:11

All of you writing as if you are sole fount of wisdom and that sabha secretaries and their committees have an ax to grind in the selection of musicians to perform in the senior slots.

The Music Academy awards almost 150 awards each year. If you don't believe me, just show up on Jan 1 during the Sadas and count for yourself.

If you want, you can create an endowment at the Music Academy and have them hand out an award in the name of your spouse, parent, grandparent or near and dear (as they say in Madras).

There is a music competition for youngsters. The winner of the competition is given a junior slot (12 noon) at the Academy. Last year's winner Amritha Venkatesh thus automatically got a slot this year.

Other talented younger musicians are also recognized. Ranjani Hebbar, the winner of the Kalki Memorial Award this year, also got a slot this year.

Senior musicians are requested to be the judges for various time slots. Last year, Nisha Rajagopal got a Best Concert award for her 12 noon slot performance. Gayathri Venkataraghavan got the Best Concert award for her 2:00 pm slot performance. Even the 4 pm and 7 pm concerts are judged.

Considering that the Academy's music festival runs for 16 days, there are approximately 30 slots for the evening concerts. One has to accommodate superstars such as Sanjay, TM Krishna, Aruna Sayeeram, Nithyashriek Mahadevan, Sudha Raghunathan, Bombay Jayashri, P. Unnikrishnan, T V Sankaranarayanan, T N Seshagopalan, the duelling abhangists, etc. By the time this usual crowd is taken care of, there are not that many slots available.

In those slots, you have to give a chance to newly-promoted people such as Gayathri Girish, Priya Sisters, etc.

Then you can consider artists of merit for promotion from the sub-senior (2 pm) slot to the senior (4 pm, 7 pm) slots. This year, the lucky prize winners were Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam, Lakshmi Rangarajan, and Gayathri Venkataraghavan. The Grand Prize went to Lakshmi Rangarajan who not only got a 4 pm slot but preceded T M Krishna which ensured that at least the latter part of her concert will have record crowds.

Old-timers such as R K Srikantan, Rudrapatnam Brothers, Seetha Rajan, Suguna Purushotthaman are thus pushed into the morning 9:15 slot. Be happy you can hear good music for free.

So, there IS a system for selecting artists at the Music Academy. A similar system exists at most sabhas. Their selection process may seem arbitrary to you. You don't have to like it but they are not looking for your approval either. In the grand scheme of things, you are just an insignificant little twit. The sooner you realize this, the better it is for your blood pressure.

Musicians work hard at their craft. Fame and Fortune does not necessarily smile on all of them. The listening public decides who will be the stars. You may bemoan their tastes; you have a full right to. But the general public is willing to pay more for Aruna Sayeeram than for your favorite. Thus Aruna Sayeeram wins and your candidate loses. Grow up and accept the realities of life. The musicians themselves do.

You can always put your money where your mouth is. Do what the late SVK did and start your own sabha. Use the venue to find and promote real talent as seen only by you. Some of them may even receive approval from the Music Academy the way Gayathri Venkataraghavan did with her promotion to the senior slot.

Put up or shut up.

kannan1940 · Post by **kannan1940** » 28 Dec 2007, 10:24

Put up or shut up.

is this necessary when you are trying to make your point convincing to others

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 28 Dec 2007, 12:47

Thank you hariji for your expln. Good to know what is happening behind the screen ? Only one Q is - Are Hyd Sisters and T.VRamprasad also selected in the same way ?

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 28 Dec 2007, 13:04

harimau wrote
In the grand scheme of things, you are just an insignificant little twit.

What do you really think about all this?

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 29 Dec 2007, 00:50

harimau, I feel you might reconsider some of the not-so-polite words in your otherwise excellent, well-reasoned and informative post.

Not that you should not be free to express annoyance, of course you are.

The Edit Button is at your disposal....

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 30 Dec 2007, 00:07

Looks like we have found an official satirist! Keem 'em coming Rama Rama Rama and who knows we might just make you the kalanidhi! Balasubramaniam sir, all this is in jest - no offence intended! Hope you are doing well back home!

rajaglan · Post by **rajaglan** » 30 Dec 2007, 00:38

I can believe that MA definitely has SYSTEM in place to organise the awards and choose the artists lists for season.

It is a prestigious institution started with All India congress comittee session at chennai in 1927 as a All India Music Conference. This is when SSI and MMI both got awards on the same year. The selection of secretary (I mean the chief) of MA is no simple task. Though happens once ina while, It gets discussed in almost all newspapers and magazines. The procedure in MA has to be transparent otherwise MA get exposed as people write about them in magazines, talk about it.

There will be some bias/push may be 10%, but that error should be acceptable. This 10% error is for the popular artist/devotional carnatic music. It is OK.

I am only hoping that as Sanjay once meant " public should reach/seek the superior knowledge level of the CM and it should never be the artist diluting the music for reaching CM (common men)" , the balance in CM is maintained.

ganesh_mourthy · Post by **ganesh_mourthy** » 30 Dec 2007, 11:17

Quickly,

Y is that Sriram Gangadharan does nto get an important place in any Sabhas.

I think he even sings at 2 o clock slot on jan 1st.

I listened to his cutcherry recently. Brigha sahithyam , sheer power, GNB style. Good swara patterns. keeps you alive throughout the concert.

by the by could anyone say under whose tutelage he was.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 31 Dec 2007, 05:47

kannan1940 wrote:Put up or shut up.

is this necessary when you are trying to make your point convincing to others

Nope, that was gratuitous.

In fact, my entire post was gratuitous.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 31 Dec 2007, 06:10

grsastrigal wrote:Thank you hariji for your expln. Good to know what is happening behind the screen ? Only one Q is - Are Hyd Sisters and T.VRamprasad also selected in the same way ?

Hyderabad Sisters probably achieved senior status some time back and are being given an opportunity again this year. T V Ramprasad is indeed another winner this year in that he got promoted to senior slot. He is a student of Sri P S Narayanaswamy and has a lot of old-time values in his music. His only problem is that his concert planning sometimes grates on some people. I have heard him sing an elaborate alapana of both Ganamurthi and Yagapriya in the same concert. How many will stand for (or sit through) that?

Two years back, neither Trichur V Ramachandran nor his wife Charumathi got an opportunity to perform at the Academy. Last year, Charumathi Ramachandran performed in the morning slot and this year only Trichur Ramachandran got an opportunity at the Academy. That ought to tell you how difficult it is for the Academy to support even musicians of great stature.

By the way, those performing at the Academy do not know who the judges are. Each time slot has two judges. They independently grade the performance (on a scale of 1 thru 100) and also write extensive comments about the concert. All of this is reviewed by various committees and winners are selected based primarily on these inputs. There may be some final judgment applied by the committees; you can choose to call that 'bias'.

The fact is that there is intense competition for a limited number of concert slots. Looking from outside, one may conclude that the selection process is arbitrary. But nobody can prop up an incompetent musician for long; the audience won't stand for it. The late great Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar couldn't do anything to improve the musical career of his favorite female. It is also difficult to suppress real talent; some sabha or other would respond to the clamor of the audience to hear that artist. If nothing else, the late SVK would have nurtured such a person.

PS. I am in no way associated with the Music Academy. I merely observe what is happening around me, talk to various musicians and gather information. You all could have done the same instead of engaging in wild speculation.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 31 Dec 2007, 06:23

ganesh_mourthy wrote:Quickly,

Y is that Sriram Gangadharan does nto get an important place in any Sabhas.

I think he even sings at 2 o clock slot on jan 1st.

I listened to his cutcherry recently. Brigha sahithyam , sheer power, GNB style. Good swara patterns. keeps you alive throughout the concert.

The question is: does he reach out to the average lay listener with his music? The next question is: does he demonstrate creativity and originality in his music while sticking to the traditional patantharam?

Most of us are just laymen when it comes to music. Even those who have learnt music for a half-dozen years or so have merely scratched the surface of the grammar and idioms of Carnatic music. Only an unbiased performing musician can judge the true worth of an upcoming artist.

Maybe Sriram Gangadharan has not yet convinced the judges at the Academy or other sabhas of his true worth.

In yesteryears, find out how long it took Ramnad Krishnan, S Kalyanaraman, Veena S Balachander, Manakkal Rangarajan (just to name a few), etc., to achieve recognition. They all had the misfortune to attempt their climb in their careers when giants such as Ariyakkudi, Semmangudi, GNB, Mudicondan, Musiri, etc., were still at the peak of their prowess.

Life is unfair. Deal with it.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 31 Dec 2007, 08:47

But nobody can prop up an incompetent musician for long; the audience won't stand for it. .......... It is also difficult to suppress real talent; some sabha or other would respond to the clamor of the audience to hear that artist.

I see the logic behind the first point. But I am not sure about the second point. One glaring example incidently comes from you. You recently rightfully berated the Chennai Sabhas/elites for ignoring Smt. Parassala Ponnammal for these many years.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 31 Dec 2007, 13:33

This thread should, it seems, be renamed as Music Academy Selection Process: a selection of facts and conjectures.

The existing title has become quite irrelevant

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 31 Dec 2007, 14:34

vasanthakokilam wrote:
But nobody can prop up an incompetent musician for long; the audience won't stand for it. .......... It is also difficult to suppress real talent; some sabha or other would respond to the clamor of the audience to hear that artist.
I see the logic behind the first point. But I am not sure about the second point. One glaring example incidently comes from you. You recently rightfully berated the Chennai Sabhas/elites for ignoring Smt. Parassala Ponnammal for these many years.

It only goes to show that the exception proves the rule.

I am not privy to the facts in Smt. Ponnammal's life but she didn't have many concert opportunities in Trivandrum, it seems. Staying in Trivandrum is not the best way to nurture one's musical career. It is a fact that even Sri Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna acknowledged that he got not much support while in Andhra but got name and recognition after moving to Chennai.

It is a rare individual who could stay in Bangalore or Vijayawada and still get recognition in Chennai. Bombay Sisters, Bombay Jayashree Ramnath (Bombay), Ranjani-Gayathri, etc., all moved to Chennai to further their careers.

One must be frequently in the eyes of selection committees/sabha secretaries in order to get concert opportunities.

It did take the off-beat sabhas (Nada Inbam of SVK and Carnatica) to present Smt. Ponnammal in concert. Smt. Ponnammal's student G. Seethalakshmi did get a senior slot this year at the Academy.