BENGALURU: Alice Barron has had an eternal love affair with Western classical music. But when the London-based violinist heard Carnatic music for the first time, she could not stop herself from exploring how the instrument is used. These experiments eventually brought her here, where she will be performing at the ongoing Gudiya Sambhrama–The Temple Festival 2020, where art, including sculpture and paintings, will be move out of exhibition halls to be displayed at the temple. Her performance is happening on February 8, at Varaprada Sri Venkateshwara Devastana Devagiri, Banashankari.
Barron will be accompanied by Will Roberts, a percussionist from London, Sumnath Manjunath, a violinist from Mysuru and Vinod Anoor on mridangam. They will be performing a composition by Manjunath, which will have a blend of Carnatic classical and Western classical music, dedicated to the legacy of Lord Rama. Says Barron, “Through this event, I am getting to explore different parts of this Indian epic.” Though the event focuses on the Ramayana, it does not limit the artiste to a particular genre.
Going back to where it all began,
sh e recalls how while doing her PhD at University of Oxford, she heard violinist Mysore Manjunath play Carnatic music in 2017, during a performance at the university. Smitten, Barron decided to pursue it further. She has also performed with renowned violinist-composer L Subramaniam and considers Raga Hamasadhyani as one of her favourite tunes on violin.
After living in India for some years, Barron now feels equally at home here and says, “This my eighth visit to India. Though I live in Mysuru, it feels equally familiar as London.” Barron is also a faculty at University of Oxford, which leads to frequent shuttling between the two countries. However, her recent trip to India in December 2019 has been her longest here, since she is yet to decide her return date.