www.symphonyofsouthasia.org

Bridge, transform, inspire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nirupama Rao Sudhakar Rao [email protected]

APRIL IN MUMBAI: A UNIQUE PEACEBUILDING PROJECT TAKES SHAPE

A concert, named “Chiragh” or the Lamp that lights the darkness, will be held to mark the debut of the South Asian Symphony Orchestra

The Orchestra, drawn from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, , Nepal, and the diaspora of people of South Asian origin, will play compositions from Beethoven and Bizet, feature arias from Mozart, Puccini, and Félicien David, and also premiere specially commissioned music from the region by Lauren Braithwaite of the Afghan National Institute of Music, Kabul, and Kamala Sankaram, the outstanding Indian American composer of many operas and aficionado of Bollywood music.

Mumbai– In July 2018, residents, Nirupama and Sudhakar Rao, two retired civil servants, one a lifelong career diplomat who served as Foreign Secretary of India and Ambassador to and the United States, and the other an officer of the Indian Administrative Service and retired Chief Secretary of Karnataka, established the South Asian Symphony Foundation. They were fulfilling a long-held dream of building bridges of friendship and mutual understanding in a region where political divisions and

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territorial conflict, particularly between India and Pakistan, have prevented regional integration for peace and development.

The South Asian subcontinent consists of eight nations: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These are nations who are linked by history and geography, culture, religion and civilizational ties.

Nirupama Rao says that the Foundation is “inspired by the dream that South Asia must overcome the challenges of history and build an architecture of dialogue and cooperation” that can help all South Asians sustain their common humanity and fulfil their shared destiny.

“We decided to form an orchestra of South Asia” says Rao, “because orchestras transcend race, religion, language and borders. In an orchestra all musicians are equal, walls crumble and differences recede. Friendships are formed, and these friendships are taken home”. Orchestras, she says, teach their members harmony and the concept of many voices in counterpoint. Rao wants South Asians to “sweat in peace, and not bleed in war”, quoting the words of the veteran freedom fighter and the first woman President of the U.N. General Assembly, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

Over the last few months, the Raos have worked hard to identify South Asian musicians, both professional and amateur, to build their project. They call it SASO or, the South Asian Symphony Orchestra. “We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm with which our idea has been received and the response from people all over the world with connections to our region”, they say.

For instance, from civil war-torn Afghanistan, and the universally- acclaimed Afghan National Institute of Music, Kabul, the orchestra has eleven Afghan musicians - some of them barely into their teens – who want to pursue full-time careers in music because they love the medium and have persisted with dedication to perfect their art despite the instability and turbulence that affects their nation. These musicians, including two who play traditional Afghan instruments, will join an orchestra that has musicians from Bangladesh,

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Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and a few of South Asian descent from the United States and Europe.

Today, SASO has over seventy members drawn from these nations as it prepares for its launch concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai on April 26, 2019. The orchestra will be conducted by Viswa Subbaraman, an American whose parents migrated from India, and whose work is inspired by the late German conductor Kurt Masur who used music as an instrument to unite divided Germany at the end of the Cold War. New Jersey-based, Sri Lanka-born Tharanga Goonetilleke, who trained at the Juilliard School, will be the soprano soloist.

Chiragh, a Concert of the South Asian Symphony Orchestra, at the Tata Theatre, the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, 7 pm, Friday, April 26, 2019. Tickets on BookMyShow and at the NCPA box office.

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