Asia Rocks! Featuring Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Sunday 18th September 2011 Royal Albert Hall
The Asian Music Circuit is the leading pr Our work and reach have grown over the past two decades to include concerts showcasing the best of cultures from all over Asia; courses in Indian, Chinese and Japanese music; and an interactive, multimedia museum in west London displaying instruments and artefacts from across the continent. Amongst the many high-calibre performers we have toured are the Kamkars of Iran, the Naxi musicians of China and the Sabri Brothers of Pakistan, as well as Indian legends like Asha Bhosle, Shaan, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Jagjit Singh. In addition to working with major London venues like Wembley Arena, Cadogan Hall, the Barbican and Southbank Centre, we’ve brought the wonderful music of Asia to regions up and down the country, and tonight are delighted to present a UK première in one of the capital’s most iconic venues: the Royal Albert Hall. We have curated several BBC Proms here as well as our own productions. This evening we celebrate twenty years of the Asian Music Circuit, but our future, sadly, is uncertain. In March this year, Arts Council England announced it would cut 100% of its funding from April 2012. The Arts Council set up the AMC and has regularly funded our work for twenty years; we gratefully acknowledge the long-term, generous support. Yet the result of this decision would – as the Arts Council themselves have stated – leave
ding promoter of Asian music in the UK. a huge gap in the provision of Asian music performance, education and consumption in this country resulting in the waste of an entire organisation’s investment, expertise and infrastructure carefully built up since 1991. It is a blow for the Asian community and for all lovers of Asian music. Encouraged by many letters of support, we are challenging the Arts Council’s decision to cut the Asian Music Circuit. You can keep track of our progress via our email updates (subscribe online or at the AMC information desk next to door six tonight) and at www.amc.org.uk. We will also be fundraising during the interval and at the end of tonight’s show: please consider making a donation. This money will go exclusively towards future artistic projects, so you know you’ll be helping a good cause. Thank you for all the wonderful support over the past twenty years. Here’s to the next twenty – and beyond.
Asia Rocks!
Celebrating twenty years of the Asian Music Circuit Hosted by Tommy Sandhu
KSPARK Dancers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy -
Gitanjali Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy Please note this is a seated event – we request you remain in your seat to ensure the enjoyment of everybody in the audience. Filming and recording are prohibited. There will be a short interval of twenty minutes; the show will finish at around 10.30pm. You can find out more about the Asian Music Circuit and sign up to free email updates at the Asian Music Circuit desk next to door six. We will be fundraising for future artistic projects during the interval and at the end of the show. Please consider making a donation. Programme subject to change without notice.
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KSPARK Dancers Popular dance troupe Karan and the KPSARK Dancers have taken the UK Asian dance scene by storm. They are renowned for their spectacular choreography, explosive energy and stunning costumes and their culturally enriching, unforgettable, one-of-a-kind performances which blend the best of east and west. The KSPARK Dancers have stolen the show at the Indian International Film Awards, Sadler’s Wells and Wembley Arena. Artistic director Karan Pangali recently starred on Hrithik Roshan’s international dance competition, Just Dance.
Karan’s talent doesn’t end on the stage. He also runs ‘Karan’s Bollywood Masterclass’: weekly classes for students from four years old to 65+ throughout London. For further information, see www.karanlive.com
Artists: Nishi Pangali Jaydeep Bhatt Priya Dasani Tanya-Marie Greig Rahila Hussain Alaksha Jivan Jessica Metcalfe Usmaan Mohammed
Selina Mughal Sanam Navsari Karan Pangali Elizabeth Restrepo Sumeet Sachdev Eloise Sheldon Dru Wilkie
SHANKA
Their soundtracks for Dil Chah Name is Khan (2010) are amon last decade and all made India movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobar biggest-grossing Bollywood fil their stunning UK debut in Asi
Shankar Mahadevan
Star vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, keyboard player Loy Mendonsa ce Loy last month. They have become o composed more than fifty soundtra accolades including three Filmfare a and three Star Screen awards.
The secret of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy audiences (more interested in weste best of traditional Indian music (m combine a thorough knowledge of vocal traditions with technical flair a winning poet Gulzar described their
Ehsaan Noorani
Other than film music, the group have Ambani’) to Pepsi (‘Oye Bubbly’), f campaign (‘School Chale Hum’) and hosted by Shah Rukh Khan. Their s Innings T20 (Indian Premier League Games 2010 and ‘De Ghuma Ke’ for t Artists:
Shankar Mahadevan lead vocals Ehsaan Noorani lead guitar Loy Mendonsa lead keyboard Akriti Kakar vocals Raman Mahadevan vocals Shon Frank Pinto guitar Dibyajyoti Nath bass guitar Gulraj Singh Ghumman keyboard Nishadh Harishchandra Abichandani per Darshan Shaileshkumar Doshi drum Prasad Sadananad Malandkar Indian pe
Loy Mendonsa
NKAR-EHSAAN-LOY
for Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), and My 0) are among the biggest Bollywood successes of the made Indian cinema history. As the trio’s music for new Milegi Dobara becomes their second to enter the top ten Bollywood films of all time, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy make debut in Asia Rocks!
r Mahadevan, phenomenal guitarist Ehsaan Noorani and leading Mendonsa celebrated their fifteenth birthday as Shankar-Ehsaanhave become one of India’s most illustrious film music outfits, having fifty soundtracks, performed across the world, and won over twenty ree Filmfare awards, three International Indian Film Academy Awards awards.
ar-Ehsaan-Loy’s success lies in their ability to appeal to younger ested in western and international influences) while incorporating the ian music (many of their songs are based on classical ragas). They knowledge of Carnatic (South Indian) and Hindustani (North Indian) chnical flair as composers and orchestral arrangers: Academy Awardescribed their music as ‘a sensible synthesis of popularity and class’.
the group have composed for companies from Reliance (‘Anil Dhirubhai ye Bubbly’), for the Government of India’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ale Hum’) and for the TV show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? Khan. Their sports anthems include ‘Ek Desh Ek Junoon’ for Extra emier League 2009), as well as ‘Chalo Delhi’ for the Commonwealth huma Ke’ for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
d vocals tar oard
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ar eyboard Abichandani percussion Doshi drum ndkar Indian percussion
Production: Dhiren Shrikant Pradhan manager Ashish Ramesh Kumar Saksena front of house engineer Fali Sorab Damania monitor mix engineer
Akriti Kakar (right) joins Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for the show. Akriti was born and brought up in Delhi and has sung for films starring Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor.
GITANJALI
A specially-commissioned audio-visual production of poetry, music, film and dance, Gitanjali celebrates the 150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011. A groundbreaking writer, artist, thinker and educationist, Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Gitanjali, a collection of poems inspired by the nature and seasons of Bengal. Tagore translated them into English in 1912; on his arrival in London in July that year the poems were read by W. B. Yeats in a famous soirée at William Rothenstein’s house on Hampstead Heath. In his preface to Gitanjali, Yeats wrote ‘I have carried the manuscript of these translations about with me for days, reading it in railway trains, or on the top of omnibuses and restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would see how much it moved me.’
forever’. This evening, a short, edited version of the original production will be presented.
Gitanjali is a co-production between the Asian Music Circuit and Baithak, a London-based arts organisation working to promote South Asian arts in the UK. Under the leadership of artistic directors Sangeeta Datta and Soumik Datta, Baithak aims to bring the rich heritage of South Asian arts to young British Asians, working with performing arts, literature and film.
The book went into ten editions before the Nobel Prize was announced in November 1913. Gitanjali remains one of the most widelytranslated books around the world. Tonight’s production tells the story of the journey of Gitanjali and of its author Tagore through a multimedia production including original songs and poems, Tagore’s paintings, and rare archival film footage. After its world premiere in May 2011 at Southbank Centre, audiences described Gitanjali as ‘spectacular, thought-provoking and with poetry that moved me to tears’ and ‘a beautiful experience which I will carry with me Artists: Sangeeta Datta script and direction, vocals, readings Ansuman Biswas readings Sahana Bajpaie vocals Anirban Bhattacharya vocals Unnati Dasgupta vocals Soumik Datta sarod Souvid Datta tabla Dipankar De Sarkar esraj
Images © Belinda Lawley
Idris Rehman clarinet Jatanil Banerjee keyboard Rishi Banerjee vocals, harmonium Aindrila Ghosh dance Senjuti Das dance Indrani Datta dance Sudakshina Ghosh visual art adaptation Rahat Kulshreshtha visual edit and design
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Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust The Anjool Maldé Memorial Trust (AMMT) takes great pleasure in adopting tonight’s show as Anjool’s Remembrance Event for 2011. The AMMT was set up by Anjool’s friends and family to acclaim and reward fresh talent and a number of bright individuals have received the Trust’s awards across the very fields traversed by Anjool himself: scholarship and citizenship, enterprise, journalism, and music. It is a special pleasure to discover exciting new musical talent: the AMMT’s association with the Asian Music Circuit links well with Anjool’s own musical leanings from an early age. The Trust acclaimed Anjlee Desai as its Musical Talent of the Year in 2010 and Kiran Hungin (who goes by the stage name of Mary at Midnight) in 2011. The Trust is proud to lend its support to Asia Rocks! and whole-heartedly joins the campaign to keep the AMC’s excellent work alive. Anjool’s friends are attending tonight from all over the world: a big thank-you to the Trust’s many supporters, especially those who have crossed the seas to be here. Enjoy the show!
For further information, see www.anjool.org