The Brunei Pass: Theatre, Global Music and Wine Reception

About this event

SOAS SAHM Fest music, dance, and theatre in the Brunei Hall

Community music and performance draw out the South Asian festive spirit. In the British diasporic context, Garba as the folk dance of Gujarat remains the critical site for festive celebration as well as a portal for social cohesion uniting the dispersed diaspora as those of Ugandan Asians. This post-pandemic festival brings together such energies arising from both folk and classical and semi-classical traditions of Gujarat.

We also hear conversations about new technical frontiers in classical music such as from Saarey Music that is played in the Senate House led by Farzana Qureshi.

• 2 to 3 pm SWAR & GARBA YATRA - A Soulful Journey of Community Music
  Led by the versatile talent of Nirmal Joshi -- a disciple of Shri Chandravadan Engineer. Tabla by Puish Kumar Engineer – a senior disciple of Pandit Sanju Sahai and Shri Chandravadan Engineer. Siddarth Singh will play the Guitar. This is followed by the Garba dance produced by Subrang Arts.
  
  
• 3 pm to 3:45 pm -- Global Fusion
  Draws heavily on the influence of early globe trotters and iconic artists such as the lyrics of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Bisakha Goswami has been specially commissioned to perform from Tagore's house in Jorasanko (Kolkata).
  The dancing footsteps of the legendary Uday Shanker spread their creative wings in contemporary Afro -Asian beats among the energetic youth.
  Meet Choreographer Aritri Kundu with Dhruvi Bafna, Doyel Som, Rini Choudhury and Nirrlipta Padhee (supported by Heritage Bengal Global).
  
  
• Tommy Khosla and the Band 3:10-3:30 pm
  Ravi Shanker lives among those keen to learn the intricacies of the Sitar and its abiding influence in global fusion music. A meeting point of sitar, bossa, jazz, lo-fi, electronic and a sprinkling of psychedelic music, is presented from Khosla's debut LP Vignettes and original new work from the band. Tommy Khosla on sitar, Kenichi Kojima on guitar and Gregorio Merchán on synth.
  
  
• 4 pm to 5:30 pm: breaDth -- Theatre and Creative Collaboration
  Explores the grip of two interconnected viruses killing in the UK; COVID-19 and racial discrimination; and the importance of oxygen for our lungs and for life. Meet the writer, Raminder Kaur, Director: Mukul Ahmed with live intervention by Rez Kabir; Starring Aishah Afzal, Maria Austin, Eleanor Fanyinka, Rez Kabir and Diljohn Sidhu
  
  
• 5:30 pm to 5:45 pm Fest Finale with Tommy Khosla's solo recital
  Currently studying under Anoushka Shankar and Ricky Romain, Tommy will present a short contemporary recital on the sitar.
  
  
• 5:50 pm to 6:15 pm
  Fest Finale speeches by Prof Andrea Cornwall (Outgoing Pro-Director, Research and Enterprise), Khadir Meer (Chief Operating Officer at SOAS), Oliver Urquhart Irvine (Director of SOAS Library) (TBC) among others.
  
  
• 6 pm onwards: SOAS SAHM FESTIVAL WINE RECEPTION ( TICKETS FROM SOAS ONLINE STORE ). The reception ticket also includes refreshments for some select events over two days.

Registration

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Organisers: The Festival is co-directed by Sanjukta Ghosh (SSAI) and Farzana Qureshi (SOAS Library) and supported by the Students Union, SOAS Library, SOAS Research and Enterprise. The festival is in partnership with South Asian Heritage Month, the well-known month-long celebration in the United Kingdom (similar in spirit to Black History Month and other awareness months). The SOAS SAHM is in collaboration with Jasvir Singh OBE and Dr Binita Kane along with the wider team.

Contact email: ssai@soas.ac.uk