Tour of India - Part Four

In the final installment of our Tour of India blog orchestra manager Annabel describes a special project in Bangalore and the last couple of days in this amazing country;

Writing this back in England with planning in full swing for the first few concerts in our new season, our trip to India already feels like a long time ago.  The last few days of the tour certainly flew by – following our performance in Hyderabad we travelled to Bangalore.  A day of travel and no performance meant that everyone was more refreshed for our final day which was somewhat hectic and, for me, the highlight of the trip.

A couple of days before we flew out to India, we were contacted by the fantastic musical outreach initiative Songbound, who aim to bring music to some of India’s poorest and most marginalised children. They were wondering if, schedule permitting, any of our musicians might consider visiting an Orphanage they work with in Bangalore.  After hearing a little more about the charity and their work we were keen to attend, and I’m incredibly pleased that we managed to fit in a visit.

Arriving at the Samarthanam Centre, which is run by a trust who provide a home and education for underprivileged, visually-impaired and disabled children, we were greeted by a crowd of enthusiastic children, whose smiles were both infectious and humbling. Many of the children have been working with one of Songbound’s choir leaders, who visits them weekly to teach songs from both Indian and Western traditions.  We started by hearing a couple of the songs they had learnt, before introducing them to the different instruments within the group and the sounds that can be made. After playing a few short pieces in different instrumental combinations, we taught them a new song complete with actions and Britten-Sinfonia accompaniment- we hope that it might get added to their choir’s repertoire! 

Our time at the orphanage was all too short, but was thoroughly enjoyed by both children and musician’s alike – it was wonderful to see the happiness that music can bring, irrespective of situation. Please do read about the work that Songbound do, and support them if you can. Visit www.songbound.com

Another taxi-ride of dodging cattle, goats and motorbikes later and we were back at the hotel, and straight into the soundcheck for the evening’s show. The performance itself was fabulous (in a rare programme containing no stage moves, I had the opportunity to sit in and had been waiting until the last performance to do so) and everyone was rather sad to say Goodbye to our colleagues Anubrata, Khan Saheb and his sons at the end of the evening.  Nevertheless, we returned to England with a host of fond memories, and a desire to, one day, return.

Annabel
Orchestra Manager

Tour of India - Part Three

The third installment of our India tour blog by orchestra manager, Annabel:

Greetings from Hyderabad, as the musicians are beginning their fifth concert.  The last few days have passed in a blur of early flights, car journeys, soundchecks and performances.  From Coimbatore we travelled to Chennai where our cellist, Eilidh Martin, has previously lived.  While there she helped establish the Sunshine Orchestra for underprivileged children, based at the KMMC Conservatory.  Although our schedule sadly didn’t allow us to visit the children, we were delighted that a number of them were able to attend our concert – and Eilidh had a chance to check that they are all still practising!  It was lovely to meet the children after the concert, and the evening ended with everyone in good spirits – so much so that, in a moment of carelessness in converting currencies, a bottle of wine with a price containing rather too many 0’s was purchased by the ensemble.  You live and learn….



From Chennai we moved to Mumbai where we gained our first experience of monsoon weather, with rain on both arrival and departure and much higher humidity.  Our concert here, at the National Centre for Performing Arts, was a notable highlight of the trip so far – the Mumbai audience were exceptionally welcoming and we were received very enthusiastically.

National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai

Another early start meant we were somewhat bleary-eyed when setting off for our flight to Hyderabad.  This didn’t last for long though as the realisation that a suitcase had been missed when loading our luggage at the hotel wakened me up somewhat.  A few phonecalls, a tense wait, and a slight dash through security and I made it onto the plane with the elusive suitcase, just.

At the start of the tour Ayaan Ali Khan told me that all of the cities we would be visiting have a distinctly different character.  On arriving in Hyderabad from Mumbai this was certainly true – it felt almost like an entirely different country! The rain and humidity have been exchanged for dry sunshine, and vibrant flowers line the roads.  Roads are less cluttered, and houses come in a multitude of colours.  So far, Hyderabad takes the place of my favourite city – although this may of course all change when we reach Bangalore, our sixth and final city, tomorrow.

Annabel
Orchestra Manager

For full details of Britten Sinfonia's tour to India click here