A concert of camaraderie and cultural connection

The Scotland team presented recitals of bassoon, clarinet, flute, and violin, giving a conclusion to the workshop.
Photos: Martin Louis
Photos: Martin Louis

CHENNAI: As the musical notes swirled in the air, a sense of euphoria proliferated in the hall of Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University. When the regional musicians held their instruments, proudly explaining their prominence, foreign musicians listened with intense curiosity and eagerness. The musical workshop conducted on Wednesday as a part of the Concert for Friendship project week by KM Music Conservatory in collaboration with the British Council and Big Noise-Sistema Scotland (UK) was an evening of cultural exchange through music.

“The upcoming concert is just the endpoint. The magic of the project is the small events that happen throughout the week. We hear connections musically between Scotland and India through rhythms and melodies. That is amazing. The concert is the icing on the cake,” said Adam J Greig, artistic director, KM Music Conservatory.

Beginning with a classical music presentation by the students of Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University with instruments including nadaswaram, violin, veena, and mridangam, the event gradually navigated towards the classical and folk dance performances. Singer and vice-chancellor of the university, S Sowmya explained the basics of classical ‘Thaala’ structure, engaging the audience. The Scotland team presented recitals of bassoon, clarinet, flute, and violin, giving a conclusion to the workshop.

David Munn, musician, and teacher, Sistema Scotland (UK), shared, “This is our first time in India and we are excited to be here. We feel welcomed. Scotland and India have had long ties for a long time. We experience a part of Indian culture through food and music. Coming here, we have known how different the cultures of both countries are, yet similar. It is a privilege to share our music with Indian musicians,” adding that everybody has been working hard for the past few weeks and they are looking forward to the concert.

The British Council has been supporting the collaboration between western artistes and Indian artistes for more than a decade. This year is vital for us as we celebrated the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, commented Janaka Pushpanathan, director, south India, British Council. She added, “The Concert for Friendship honours the transcendent power of music and serves as the culmination of the India/UK Together Season of Culture, which was launched in June last year. AR Rahman is our brand ambassador. We have a series of programmes in India and the UK, with almost 40 projects with 400 artistes. We are happy that we are able to provide emerging young artistes a voice and a platform to showcase their talents.”

The concert promises to be an evening of joy with over 100 young musicians from Scotland, Nagaland, and Chennai. Three symphonic performances will be presented during the event by the Sunshine Orchestra of the AR Rahman Foundation, Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise, and the KM Music Conservatory. “The coming together of these artistes will improve and augment the creative economies of both nations. Moreover, this has also enabled the British Council to deepen the people-to-people connection,” concluded Janaka.

The concert will be held today at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, 7, Shenstone Park, # 13, 1, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai, from 7.30 pm. For booking and details, visit www.britishcouncil.in/events/concert-friendship.

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