Goa on a Musical Journey Where East Meets West

PANAJI:
The evening promises to be magical in every sense of the word. The legendary Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan will come together with the UK-based Orchestra Sinfonia Verdi conducted by the internationally acclaimed David Murphy to create magic at the Kala Academy on the evening of 19th January 2017.
Under the aegis of the Deccan Heritage Foundation, the concert seeks to celebrate and inspire young, aspiring instrumentalists with a musical dialogue that has existed between the East and the West for over centuries. Goa is one of the greatest musical melting pots and as such represents the perfect springboard for the Roots of Fire journey.
Recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of the country, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan have been recognised on the global stage as leading musicians in their own right. The Khan family has a history in ‘East-meets-West’ collaborations most recently releasing the album Soul Strings with American classical violinist Elmira Darvarova in 2015, and the follow-up album Amalgam released in 2016.
Founder and Artistic Director of UK based Sinfonia Verdi, David Murphy is a pupil of Leon Barzin and a protégé of Sir Charles Mackerras and Pandit Ravi Shankar. He conducts at musical concerts throughout the world. Recent highlights have included his critically acclaimed Royal Festival Hall debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra and concerts and workshops with the children from the townships around Johannesburg.
Said Ustad Amjad Ali Khan “I’m very happy to be a part of roots of fire. It gives me immense pleasure to present my music to Goa. David and I share a great rapport having worked on projects earlier in the west. Music transcends borders and this dialogue between the east and the west will be a great way to bring this thought to life.”
The performance at the Roots of Fire concert at Kala Academy on 19th January will include works by Mozart, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and David Murphy. The project then moves to Mumbai for one of the first musical performances at the newly-restored Royal Opera House, Mumbai on 20th January.
The project also includes Master Classes which will be held at the Lourdes Convent in Saligao, Goa between 16th and 19th January were Goan children and local musicians will both witness, and be enabled to play a part in, musical collaboration through the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions.
“The Deccan Heritage Foundation is proud to support “Roots of Fire” as the project celebrates the musical and cultural heritage that has existed between East and West in Goa over centuries. I hail from Saligao so I am delighted that the master classes are being organised at Lourdes Convent in Saligao, with which my family has a long-standing association.” Said Mary Anne Cordeiro ,Founding Chairperson of the Deccan Heritage Foundation.
At the core of the Roots of Fire project is the belief that we all share the same fundamental musical DNA, and that the same creative spark is at the roots of all of our music. These creative roots ultimately know no boundaries of culture, nationality or religion.
Partners with Roots of Fire,the Bagri Foundation is a UK registered charity whose principal aim includes the advancement of literacy, education and the arts, as well as the appreciation and understanding of Asian cultures. Further, the Deccan Heritage Foundation has a particular interest in education and music as the vehicles for keeping monuments and cultural heritage alive. Mary Anne Cordeiro, Deccan Heritage Foundation Founding Chair, has an ancestral home in Saligao, Goa and a long-standing association with Lourdes Convent in Saligao where the master classes and workshops have been organised this Ja
nuary.
Roots of Fire is a cultural education project that aims to inspire pride in local cultural heritage through music.