SECOND ANNUAL GHARANA MUSIC FESTIVAL TO FEATURE EXPANDED CONCERTS, WORKSHOPS AND MASTERCLASSES
The Gharana Music Foundation (GMF) will hold its second annual international classical music festival in Kathmandu from September 14 through 18 at the Yak & Yeti Hotel in Durbarmarg and at Tangalwood in Tangal. This year’s much expanded concert program includes a wide variety of both Eastern and Western classical and traditional music and workshops and masterclasses will be given in guitar, cello, violin, viola, piano and didgeridoo.
Daniel Linden, founder and president of GMF, says that based on last year’s well attended festival and positive feedback he has received from audience members and especially music students, he decided to add different types of classical music, including chamber music and small ensembles rooted in Western and Eastern classical and folk traditions, and to offer music in a free and casual outdoor atmosphere at Tangalwood in addition to the indoor setting at Yak & Yeti. Returning from last year’s festival will be classical guitarists Brendan Evans (USA), Paul Cesarczyk (Poland/USA) and Rupert Boyd (Australia). Salil Subedi (Nepal) will again demonstrate his virtuosity on didgeridoo as will Rabin Lal Shrestha (Nepal) on percussion. New this year are cellist Laura Metcalf (USA), pianist Neecia Majolly (India), violinist Rebecca Jackson (USA), cellist Franck Bernede with the Singhini Consort (France/Nepal), Night (Nepal), KANTA dAb dAb (Nepal) and vocalists Inoue Sou (Japan) and Vishal Bhattarai (Nepal).
The festival kicks off at 6:00 pm on Wednesday September 14 at Yak and Yeti with a Dhrupad vocal duo by Inoue Sou and Vishal Bhattarai featuring Rabin Lal Shrestha, followed by a solo concert by classical guitarist Brendan Evens. Thursday’s program starts with Frank Bernede’s Public Masterclass for Chamber Orchestra at noon, then a classical guitar masterclass with Rupert Boyd at 3:00 pm, and concludes with a 6:00 pm concert by the Singhini Consort and a performance by the chamber music ensemble of Neecia Majolly, Rebecca Jackson and Laura Metcalf. Friday starts early with a piano master class with Neecia Majolly at 9:30 am, a 3:00 pm classical guitar masterclass and discussion with Paul Cesarczyk and concludes with a concert by Salil’s Didgeridoo and Overtone Music Collective featuring Singing Bowl Maestro Santa Ratna Shakya at 6:00 pm, followed by Boyd Meets Girl, the duo of cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, who just happen to be married to each other.
Saturday is all new this year beginning with a Step by Step Guide to Learning a Piece of Music with Professor Paul Cesarczyk at 11:00 AM (open to all musicians), followed by a Didgeridoo and Overtone Sound Experience Workshop with Salil Subedi at noon. At 1:00 PM GMF officially launches another of its projects in Nepal, with a performance by the young students of the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC). GMF has donated 20 guitars to the center and is implementing a learning curriculum developed and made available by Austin Classical Guitar, one of the leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to music education in the U.S. Mr. Linden has been teaching the children of incarcerated parents who live at ECDC how to play. Along with ECDC founder and winner of the 2012 CNN Heroes award Pushpa Basnet, GMF hopes to make a difference in the lives of these and other children. At 2:00 pm Rebecca Jackson will conduct a masterclass and chamber music coaching for violin, viola and cello.
In collaboration with Attic and CALM at Tangalwood, the festival moves outdoors to the Tangalwood lawn at 4:00 pm on Saturday for a free concert featuring Nepali bands Night and KANTA dAb dAb, plus artists Rabin Lal Shrestha, Salil Subedi, Brendan Evens, Laura Metcalf, Rebecca Jackson and more. It returns to Yak and Yeti on Sunday with a noon workshop and cello masterclass with Laura Metcalf, a 3:00 pm classical guitar masterclass with Brendan Evans and wraps up with solo and duo guitar performances by Paul Cesarczyk and Rupert Boyd at 6:00 PM.
Tickets for evening concerts at Yak & Yeti are Rs. 700 general admission per concert. A four-concert general admission package is offered at Rs. 2,000. Tickets are Rs. 250 per concert for students with valid ID. Tickets are available at Attic (Tangal), CALM (Tangal), Curilo (Lainchaur), Himalayan Java (Thamel), Mandala Book Point (Kantipath), Cafe Soma (Baluwatar and Patan), Yamaha Music Showroom (Kantipath), The Old House (Durbarmarg), and Jatra (Thamel).
All workshops and masterclasses are free but require advance registration. Auditions will be held for masterclass performers on Saturday, September 3 at 3:00 pm at Sushila Arts Academy (for directions contact 4015643). For information on auditions and registration call 9813284480 or 9851006246 or email info@gharanamusicfoundation.org. For general information on the Festival visit www.gharanamusicfoundation.org or Gharana Music Foundation on Facebook.
The Gharana Music Festival is presented by the Gharana Music Foundation with support from the D’Addario Foundation, Yamaha, Austin Classical Guitar, and Tangalwood.
