The Indian classical music space has surged in numbers not only when it comes to listeners but also the number of concerts and live shows. It would be surprising, for some, to know the number of concerts and the scale on which the classical music concerts are organised.
Along with popular music concerts, even classical music is finding favour with the youth and old alike.
As the year end approaches, the artists are inundated with inquires for concerts. To draw up a line-up of 65 artists over 5 days in 2 different venues is a task not many would like to carry.
The team at SaMaPa (Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts) is not one of them. The team is organising the 15th Annual Edition of their highly acclaimed classical music concert, SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan from the 19th of November to the 24th at the Stein Auditorium and Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi.
“This year’s festival will also feature around 35 students from different schools presenting the SaMaPa anthem in a choral invocation. Every year, SaMaPa, introduces a disciple of music legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori. This year it will be Waseem Ahmad Bhat, a young singer, from Sopore, Kashmir,” said Abhay Rustum Sopori, Santoor maestro and Secretary SaMaPa.
The festival attracts music connoisseurs from various parts of north India.
SaMaPa 2019
Legends of Indian classical music like Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori, Vocalist Malini Awasthi, Sitar player Kushal Das and Pakhawaj maestro Vishambhar, Nath Mishra will perform alongside upcoming artists like Piu Mukherjee, sitar duo Hafiz Bale Khan and vocalist Waseem Ahmad Bhatt among others.
The festival focuses on the traditional Gharana Gayaki and presents some rare and path-breaking presentations like the ‘Swarlaya Samwad’, which is a theme based recital. This year SaMaPa presents the theme ‘Gharanas of Tabla’, a confluence of all the six Gharanas of Indian tradition namely Banaras, Lucknow, Delhi, Farrukhabad, Ajrara and Punjab featuring six young Tabla players of the country. The festival is also a gateway for young talented musicians to present their art and talent and share a common platform with the senior and legendary musicians of the country.
“SaMaPa Sangeet Sammelan was started in 2005 with an objective to give a common platform to young and upcoming musicians together with eminent and legendary names of the country,” said Santoor legend and Chairman of SaMaPa, Pt. Bhajan Sopori.
Adding,
“This year the festival presents a wide range of young faces of classical music. The festival has grown into a 5 day musical extravaganza becoming a calendar event of Delhi witnessed by music connoisseurs of Delhi and other parts of the country as well as tourists from different countries.”
SaMaPa is acclaimed as the Cultural Bridge of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of the country. It has widened its horizon into the general masses by creating the right platform for better appreciation and understanding of the traditional music and its technicalities. It tries to enable the artists to utilise the power of music in leading a more balanced life, as well as exploring opportunities with music as means to their employment.
