Sat Jan 04 03:06:43 UTC 2025: ## Veteran Musician Kavalam Sreekumar to Compose Welcome Song for Kerala School Arts Festival
**Thiruvananthapuram, January 4, 2025** – Celebrated musician Kavalam Sreekumar has been chosen to compose the welcome song for the 63rd Kerala State School Arts Festival. This marks a full-circle moment for Sreekumar, who himself participated in the festival over five decades ago.
In 1971, Sreekumar won second prize in the boys’ classical music competition at the 13th festival held in Alappuzha, competing against future Carnatic vocalist Mavelikara P. Subramaniam. He recalls the high standard of the competition and the prestige of performing before renowned judges. The following year, he secured third place, with the first prize going to Srinivas, who later became a successful playback singer.
Sreekumar credits his early participation in the festival as instrumental in his musical development, stating it provided invaluable recognition and experience. He expressed immense honor at being selected to compose the welcome song for this year’s festival, noting the unique challenge of composing the tune first to accommodate the choreography, before writing the lyrics with Sreenivasn Thuneri. He plans to attend the festival, held in his hometown, to enjoy some of the performances.
First Piper 