How does learning music help in a child's evolution as a human being? What are some of the qualities that the kid picks up? Fourteen-year-old pianist Navya Mittal tells us, "It has really helped me concentrate and since we have to practise a lot, it has taught me the importance of hard work." Her counterpart Josh Varghese, 13, echoes her. "Music helps you express yourself better. It also aids your concentration and improves hand-eye coordination. That apart, it really boosts your confidence," he adds, while another young pianist, Dhruv Ghoshal, 15, simply feels, "It has helped me relieve stress and add to my list of extracurricular activities."

Those are pertinent points, and all these qualities will be on display at NCPA this week when Mittal, Varghese and Ghoshal take the stage with 13 other children aged seven to 15 for a western music concert named The Budding Brigade. The rest of the performers comprise pianists Avni Benjamin, Malika S D'Cunha, Neel Maheshwari, Shruthi Narayan, Daya Maithri Ravi, Tara Salgia-Patel, Kiara Michelle Soares and Zachary Siqueira Vaz; and violinists Ruchir Sachin Ingale, Gayatri Joglekar, Arav and Arnav Lalsare, and Cayla Rodrigues. They have all been handpicked from across the country after their teachers recommended their names once The Stop-Gaps Cultural Academy, which is organising the event, sent out a call for applications. And they will each perform a 10-minute solo set with their instruments that will involve numbers by classical legends like Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Schubert.