Mahjabeen Rahman, the piano teacher of Ecole de Musique, was not in Dhaka for quite a while. In between she gave the charge of the lessons to Olivier Labe, a baroque musician. When Olivier left after some months, senior students Tabassum Mahjabeen and Adittya Noman Khan took over as instructors. Both have been studying under Mahjabeen Rahman since 1999.

This year, Rahman informs, the students will play some traditional melodies. Senior students are playing complex pieces like sonatas and marches, including pre-baroque, baroque, and romantic pieces. Rahman herself has been a student of the International Music School in Dhaka and studed piano with Gi Hyon Ryo and Kim Park Han. She also received violin lesions from Sei Jin Ko. When she went to Malaysia recently to study Linguistics, she took advanced lessons in piano too.

"The students are playing some four-hand pieces, for example, Adittya and Tabassum are playing March Militaire by Schubert, while Adittya and Shirley are playing Traumerai by Schumann. The Venetian Boat Song by Mendelsshon will be played by Ehtesham. Nyrin, Iraha and Marzan are newcomers. Faizah will play Go tell Aunt Rhody and Aiyaz plays a minuet by Bach. Some of the pieces have been prepared in two weeks after I came back to Dhaka," says Rahman.

Tabassum has been studying the piano for 11 years. In order to guide the students while the teacher was away, she had to study all the pieces that the class had to work on. A student of Business Administration at the North South University, Tabassum hopes to continue piano lessons in future. Her favourite composition is Beethoven's Für Elise. She also likes music by popular Bangladeshi bands.

Adittya, a 12th grade student at Notre Dame College, puts in about four hours of piano music every week. "I like Chopin and Mozart best," says Adittya. Apart from the classical piano he likes pop, rock and heavy metal.

Ehtesham says that he had no difficulties with practice while the teacher was away. This was although he had to pick the music himself at first and later Tabassum guided him. He plans to continue music lessons alongside his studies. His favourite piece is Beethoven's Moonlight sonata.

Shirley, a student of Class X at Green Herald says that even though music is not a major part of her formal studies she hopes to take it seriously.

Sadia, another student of the Ecole de Musique, says that she hopes to continue her piano lessons, given the chance. She plays Jesu joy of man's desiring at the programme.

Going by the enthusiastic young artistes, most likely, the audience at this evening's piano concert will not be disappointed.