South Asian Symphony Orchestra returns with a diverse ensemble

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The South Asian Symphony Orchestra (SASO) returned to Chennai for the second time on Sunday, performing at the M.S. Subbulakshmi Arangam on the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) campus.

Before the event began, SASO offered an invocation with Maithreem Bhajatha, which was sung by M.S. Subbulakshmi at the United Nations. Alvin Arumugam then conducted Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, popular opera excerpts, a tribute to Raj Kapoor specially orchestrated by Nipun Bhatnagar, and a nottuswara.

The orchestra included musicians from the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Thailand, and Japan. It also featured the MMA choir from Chennai.

The event was a collaboration between the South Asian Symphony Foundation and the ACJ.

“When our musicians come together, something remarkable happens — they bring with them their own musical histories, accents, sensibilities, both in rehearsal and in performance, where they breathe together and create harmony without erasing individuality,” said Nirupama Rao, founder-trustee of the Foundation.

Ms. Rao added that bringing together the music of Mozart and Raj Kapoor was an effort to celebrate music, with the aim of transcending borders. “Our mission is to bring together artists from different countries, and we want to cultivate the art of listening, which is not well-practised in today’s world,” she added.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal, was the chief guest.