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2010

The AMC took the lead in organising a meeting with Shadow Minister for the Arts - Ed Vaizey at the House of Commons on the 25th January 2010. The AMC invited several organisations from the South Asian arts sector with a view towards trying to understand the perspective of a possible future
Conservative government towards the South Asian Arts sector and to allow them to present their views to the Shadow Minister for the Arts. The South Asian arts sector has always been very competitive within itself with little unity of thought and action.

The AMC had prepared a document which had been circulated to all the organisations present and which all the organisations agreed with.

This paper included the following points:

STATE FUNDING FOR THE ARTS

The South Asian community supports the principle of state funding for the arts.

The arts are a reflection of the spiritual wellbeing and civility of a society.

They are a means to knowledge, breaking barriers and to an understanding of people. Art as a way of life and as a means of restoring the fellowship of man in an age of globalisation must be supported at a high level and encouraged especially amongst the young.

SOME FACTORS THAT SHOULD GUIDE PUBLIC FUNDING OF THE ARTS

1.
Artistic activities have an economic value but to reduce the effect or result of artistic activity only to economic terms is simplistic and deceptive. The arts ­ including South Asian arts - do of course contribute to the economy and create employment, however the highest value of the arts lies in the power to lead people to a life of tolerance and understanding without war and conflict. Therefore its economic effects can be even more significant albeit not apparent. The South Asian community is vibrant, educated and economically successful, yet they also tend to be represented as a is proportionate sector of the deprived section of British society.

2.
Funding for the arts should be based upon an innovative national strategy. There must be more discussion on artistic activity in all its forms in the UK and its merits rather than making allocations of the overall ³pot² in advance based upon historical funding patterns. South Asian arts have a long
standing and rich heritage and play a very significant part in our society through a unique tradition of creativity both in the traditional as well as contemporary idiom.

3.
There is a huge variety of artistic activity from all sections of our society. These artistic activities should be welcomed and recognised for their high values and supported through proper recognition and funding. South Asian arts offer channels of communication and cultural exchange not only within their own communities but also between South Asian and the British society as whole. This is crucial in creating integration and social cohesion and reducing fears and misunderstandings so prevalent
globally today. The arts should play a central role in the socio-political debate, and strong investment in South Arts in particular will help build a stronger Britain.

4.
Everyone has the right to be able to practice the art form of their choosing. Good citizenship is not incompatible with maintaining cultural identity. In a civilized society where good citizenship is practised, different artistic traditions can exist side by side adding to the richness of life. Citizens become more tolerant in an environment that supports their desire and encourages them to learn and understand other people.

5.
Funding should not be used as a political means of control. The gap between highly funded organisations of one sector of the arts and very poorly funded organisations in sectors such as the South Asian must be reduced. Funding patterns must not be set in stone and intractable but rather should enable making connections between people.

6.
Good practice in the decision making process is a must if the public is to be able to trust funding bodies. This must involve having some knowledge of the subject matter, objectivity, transparency, genuine and sincere expert advice providing constructive unbiased help.

7.
Enable the best and highest standards. This can be achieved through a process of education and continuity. Consistency, best teaching practice, best practice in administration of both funding bodies and clients ­ setting the highest benchmarks and targets for people of all ages, best opportunities to learn, to practice and to perform and finally best environment to enable individuals to express themselves through their art.

8.
Provide adequate funding to those areas of artistic activity usually left out of the funding process or poorly funded to enable them to develop and establish sound infrastructures and organisational capacity to deliver great art for public benefit.

CONCLUSION

A.
A new government can create an innovative national arts strategy which recognises the substantial achievements of South Asian arts companies and the hugely rich cultural heritage which they represent not only in the UK but globally.

B.
Such a strategy would also confirm that South Asian arts are a substantial part of the mainstream of arts in the UK and can no more be marginalised and categorised as 'ethnic' or 'diverse' or simply 'other'.

C.
This strategy must be supported by substantial investment and financial support nationally and regionally and reduce the huge gap that currently exists between the South Asian arts sector and current mainstream arts organisations.


Ed Vaizey was generally supportive and recognised the contribution of this sector. He also recommended that further meetings be arranged by the AMC to take matters further.

January 2010

Pt ULHAS KASHALKAR is awarded the "padmashri" by the Government of India. This is excellent news. Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar is amongst the topmost vocalists In India today and represents the "gayaki" of Gwalior principally but also Jaipur. He is one of the very few artists who still represents the best of the vocal tradition of Indian music and always reminds one of the "golden era of Indian music".

The Asian Music Circuit has been privileged to have worked with him over the last few years both in terms of presenting his concerts as well as his teaching in the AMC winter school.

We congratulate him on a well deserved and "overdue" honour.

2009

December 2009

Friday 11th December 2009

Bireshwar Kumar Pal (Gautam) – 01/09/1962  - 11/12/2009
thumri singer - kathak dancer - passed away in Mumbai.

I had the privilege of meeting Bireshwar Gautam four years ago at a private Recital when he sang in his unique and utterly inimitable way in baithak thumri style. There was absolutely no question in my mind that I had just experienced a very unique performance by an artist whose talent was just outstanding, performing an art that had all but died away.

His rendition of thumri was incredible – and coupled with this his rendition of   bhav andAbhinaya  was brilliant. That ability to sing traditional thumri and abhinaya/bhav to such a high standard was unique. One associated such performance with the great kathak dancers such as Birju Maharaj and his family. Bireshwar studied kathak  with Damyanti Joshi  and thumri with Shobha Gurtu.His ability was evident and his confidence was growing with experience. He was now much in demand as a performer in India and the AMC was privileged to have Bireshwar teach in their annual summer school for two years  and above all to perform the lead part in The Dying Song  in 2008.

So much is being said about the great traditions of Indian music becoming lost – not only because the music is changing, interest in the great classical traditions is dropping, but great artists are also passing away. Bireshwar however was still a young man and Fate has dealt a cruel and most tragic blow to Bireshwar and also to the world of Indian music he is now lost for ever and his great art will no more be seen and enjoyed by people. His good nature, his sense of humour  and above all his Dedication to an art which he had become a master of, will be missed by all who know him and audiences everywhere who saw him perform.

You can watch a short video clip of Bireshwar  from the TOURS page 2008/9 under DYING SONG

Viram Jasani

TRIBUTES TO  USTAD ALI AKBAR KHAN WHO PASSED AWAY 19/06/2009

• Anindya Banerjee
• Viram Jasani
• Tarun Jasani

April 2009

Roger Wright, Director of BBC Proms  launched its festival for 2009 with a brilliant speech. In a very amusing presentation, one phrase was of great interest and relevant to the AMC:  "from Henry Wood to Bollywood!"

On the steps of the Royal Albert Hall , the venue for the BBC Proms Festival, Dancers from Honeys Dance Academy performed some pieces of typical Bollywood dancing heralding what is going to be a spectacular day of music from India  called INDIAN VOICES. This is the first time ever that the BBC PROMS FESTIVAL will feature a Bollywood show.

The INDIAN VOICES day is produced by the BBC PROMS as part of the 2009 PROMS FESTIVAL in association with the Asian Music Circuit who has curated the event. INDIAN VOICES takes place on Sunday 16th August 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall and in Kensington Gardens opposite the hall.

The "voice" has  has always been seen  as the fundamental and most important medium for music. Instruments  evolved so that they could emulate the fluidity and virtuosity of the voice. The voice provides the single melodic line indicative of the "solo" nature of Indian music, a platform for self expression and the more spiritual side of music.

The INDIAN VOICES day features some of the finest artist from India representing the North Indian classical style known as "khyal",the wonderful folk music traditions of GUJARAT and RAJASTHAN  and finally the ever popular songs Bollywood films.  The morning concert is of classical music.

Pt. Ramnarayan - the great sarangi maestro gives  a solo performance. The sarangi has always been so closely associated with various vocal Styles. Pts Rajan and Sajan Mishra   are the great singers of India today: but a new outstanding female talent is Manjiri Asnare who will be appearing at the BBC PROMS  for the first time. Australian born DevIssaro has produced the fantastic vocal ensemble from Kerala  called ASIMA  who work with traditional Vedic chant and South Indian songs and develop these into almost "pop" music. This concert also features the first appearance in UK of two young tabla players -  sons of the great tabla maestro the late Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan. Akbar Latif and his brother Babar Latif carry on the beautiful  tradition of the Delhi gharana.

The afternoon and in the park opposite the hall, there will be a wonderful free event of folk music and dance from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

There will be performances of the famous "circle" dances from Gujarat known as RAS and GARBA and it is hoped that the public will join in!

The Rajasthani folk musicians and dancers never fail to impress.

The day will end with a Boillywood show with the briliant  SHAAN  and his supporting musicians from Mumbai  and dancers from Honey's Dance Academy.

The AMC is not new to the PROMS  and has produced many concerts for the BBC PROMS festival one of the largest of its kind in the world. This year the BBC has provided an exciting opportunity for innovative programming and the INDIAN VOICES day is not to be missed !!

For more details click here

APRIL 2009

The AMC is pleased to announce the appointment of SARA BIGATTI as  its new Operations Manager.

Sara Bigatti has delivered innovative cultural projects and services in China, the UK and Italy for the past fourteen years. Sara has very recently returned to London from Beijing where she worked as Cultural Affairs Officer at the Embassy of Canada. Previously, Sara worked at the British Council in Beijing, Shanghai and London as Event Manager, Parliamentary Officer and Deputy Head of the Events Management Unit. Sara has a degree in Political Science and a passion for the arts, Asia and foreign languages: she is fluent in English, German, Mandarin and Italian.

2008

July 2008

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES VISITS AMC's ASIAN MUSIC CENTRE IN ACTON, WEST LONDON.

On 2nd July the Asian Music Circuit were honoured to have Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit their new multimedia centre in Acton, West London. This was a tremendous achievement for the AMC and marked its unique place in the world of music in the UK and beyond. The sound of two South Indian NADASWARAM accompanied by the THAVIL drum welcomed the Royal couple on this auspicious occasion for the AMC.

Viram Jasani, CEO of the Asian Music Circuit was the guide for Their Royal Highnesses and proudly took them around the Centre that he has created for the Asian Music Circuit - translating his vision into a reality over the last three to four years, adding to the substantial music touring and education work of the AMC.

The centre is driven by a large database of audio-visual recordings made by and collected by the AMC, some 700-800 hours so far! All kinds of information on the database is accessed from touch screens in the museum and in the study/archive room. What is it? How is it made? How do you play it? Where is it played and what is its social context? What do you play on it? These are the kinds of questions that are answered with superb audio-visual information. Search the archives and watch and listen to recordings of music going back to 1905! Visitors can watch films on a wide variety of subjects related to the music of various countries in Asia. Their Royal Highnesses tried out the "gendair" which is an instrument from the Indonesian gamelan family; they saw a film on how the "tabla" are made. Prince Charles is especially interested in the Chinese GUQIN, an ancient instrument in the Chinese classical tradition but which is now endangered. Fewer people play it and wood from which it is made is rare as indeed are good instruments. Joshua Petkovic who worked on a student placement scheme with the AMC and studies at its annual summer school demonstrated how the GUQIN is played. The GUQIN goes back hundreds of years and Prince Charles has set up a special project to help in the preservation of this ancient and lovely instrument. The AMC of course firmly believes that the great music traditions of Asia are endangered and fast becoming lost to an increasingly homogenous music culture based on Western perceptions. The AMC connects the past with the future by bringing the beautiful traditions of Indian and other Asian music to the widest public and especially to young people. The innovative application of technology to engage people in Asian music in a fun way is part of the strategy to keep great and authentic musical traditions alive.

Then there is the unique sound beam chamber. Choose a RAGA and see images enhancing the mood of the RAGA along with coloured light invoking the time of day or season with which that RAGA is associated; then wave your arms and move your body to create your own music in that RAGA by breaking invisible sound beams !

Prince Charles gave the photographers ample opportunity when he had a go with the morning RAGA GUJRI TODI. The room lit up with the morning colours of orange and yellow - images of sunrise, early morning mist on the Ganges in Varanasi, and a Ragamala painting of GUJRI TODI - all added to the mood!

Bireshwar Gautam is fantastic singer of THUMRI and performer of ABHINAYA. He is a KATHAK dancer. He studied with Shobha Gurtu and Damayanti Joshi - two of the greats in their respective arts. Bireshwar is the lead performer in the AMC's production of THE DYING SONG which has two more shows to go in the current tour in Brighton on the 28 th July and at The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester on the 27 th July 2008.

Bireshwar was taking a workshop with young children, teaching them a THUMRI about the festival of HOLI and the special face and hand gestures of ABHINAYA when Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall entered The Music Room and sat down to watch. They seem to thoroughly enjoy the music and ABHINAYA and afterwards warmly greeted Bireshwar and his accompanists Murad Ali - a very fine "sarangi" player from Delhi, and Hanif Khan on tabla; they then talked with the children.

The VIRTUAL GURU is a unique device created by the AMC which emulates the role of a real Guru teaching Indian classical music. Select a RAGA and a voice sings for you; that music is also seen as sound waves on a screen and the challenge for the student is to create his own sound waves to match those already on the screen and thus make the same music! Prince Charles took up the challenge and sang in the RAGA BILASKHANI TODI. He demonstrated that he has an excellent ear for music and sense of intonation.

The Board of Trustees of the AMC were then presented to Their Royal Highnesses as were two of AMC's sponsors - Carol Bagnald - Regional Director of HSBC Bank Plc and Peter Kerkar - Global CEO of the travel and leisure group Cox & Kings. Peter Kerkar is also a trustee of the AMC; the other trustees are James Parkin who produces some of BBC Radio 3's most exciting music programmes, Lucy Duran who apart from being a very senior lecturer at The School of Oriental and African Music, London University, is also a successful producer of significant commercial recordings and the presenter of BBC Radio 3's WORLD ROUTES programme and BBC World Music Awards; John Pashawar Singh OBE who has held many high positions - the last being a member of The Prime Ministers Schools Review Body; Simon Mundy is a very senior and experienced arts policy writer and advisor to the EU and other European governments, a author and poet.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall talked with the children of East Acton Primary School and with members of the public who were waiting as they left the Asian Music Centre. Once again the sounds of the ceremonial NADASWARAM and THAVIL brought the visit to a close.

This was clearly a successful visit and it was a pleasure to see Their Royal Highnesses take part in the various unique facilities the Centre has to offer and enjoying themselves. Even the weather was clement for the occasion!

The Centre is open to the public at the moment in office hours during weekdays only. It is hoped that the Centre will also open at weekends soon.

Photos : VIPUL SANGOI - RAINDESIGN

July 2008

The Asian Music Circuit is extremely honoured to have THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES THE PRINCE OF WALES and THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL visit the AMC's innovative multi media Asian Music Centre - the first of its kind in UK - on Wednesday 2nd July 2008. Their Royal Highnesses will visit the museum of musical instruments with its interactive touch screens providing information about the instruments in audio-visual format.

They will also see the "sound beam chamber" with the variety of North Indian ragas and associated visuality and films on Chinese and Japanese music. They will also see the AMC's  newly installed "VIRTUAL GURU" - an inspirational way of engaging with ragas through  sound waves and "maps".

Their Royal Highnesses will see a workshop with children conducted by the superb singer and kathak dancer BIRESHWAR GAUTAM, who will be teaching the children about the art of "abhinaya" with the vocal style of  thumri. They will be shown the AMC's archive of about 600-700 hours of audio-visual recordings.

The AMC's  team and Trustees will be presented to The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall  as will AMC's sponsors HSBC BANK PLC  and  Cox & Kings Travel Ltd.

The ASIAN MUSIC CIRCUIT  has always been at the forefront of the promotion of Asian music through expertly curated tours , outreach education programmes , summer and winter schools  and UK's first multimedia resource centre for Asian Music.

2007

October 2007

On Friday 28th September 2007 , the Asian Music Circuit formally launched its new multi media resource centre the - ASIAN MUSIC CENTRE.

As many people said , it was a brilliant evening with a variety of superb music that is typical of AMC's creative artistic programming. South Indian music played on two NADASWARAM and THAVIL provided a fitting opening for this auspicious occasion especially as this music and these instruments are so deeply connected with the temples of South India. Peter Wiegold and his group called FERGHANA with musicians from Uzbekistan played immediately after the welcome speech, followed by Qiu Zhenghui who played the Chinese ERHU, Unnati and Spiritual Junction all in the specially constructed marquee and last performance was by the great Indian flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia in the beautiful MUSIC ROOM of the new Centre. BBC Radio 3 World Routes were present and recorded the music and the flute recital went out on BBC3 World Routes on Saturday 6th October 2007 introduced by Lucy Duran. This can still be heard on their website. Earlier in the afternoon, there was a workshop of Japanese TAIKO drumming as part of the Mayor of London's OPEN REHEARSAL initiative and this event was open to the public.

In Partnership with Acton Arts Forum, there was an exhibition of paintings by local artists Prafubala; Hardip Dhanjal exhibited some of his excellent photographs tracing the history of British Asian music which enabled people to actually hear the music of the artist in the photograph through small MP3 players.The evening was given an additional sparkle with the making of fresh Indian "jalebi" in the marquee which everyone enjoyed with other savoury snacks.

The Centre looked very impressive with its growing audio-visual archive of some 400 hours of material, display cabinets housing a collection of musical instruments from all over Asia, and the magical sound beam and film chamber which showed short films on music from India, China and Japan. The guests enjoyed "playing" with the sound beams which along with visual displays and changing colours provided an "insight" into various North Indian "ragas". Pt. Hariprasad found the MUSIC ROOM to be a very inspiring place to perform with the audience seated around him on the carpeted floor in the traditional "BAITHAK" style. Greg Dyke thought the place was "truly brilliant". Virendra Sharma MP and Mrs Hazel Ware - Mayoress of Ealing were equally impressed and fascinated by the innovative resource created by the AMC as were all the other guests.

COBRA BEER very generously provided the beer and wine and SUNCREST JUICES provided the delicious soft drinks.

The Centre will hold seminars and workshops on a variety of subjects in Asian music for children as well as adults. Small scale recitals will be held, and members of the public can - by appointment - come and enjoy the facilities.The Centre is also available for people to practice in small groups and attend "listening "sessions.

The AMC is grateful to Arts Council England, London for its continued support for the work of the Asian Music Circuit through its annual grant as an RFO but also through the Arts Capital Lottery Award with which the new Centre was developed.

Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia thought the AMC's new Center was an outstanding MONUMENT to Asian music and that people would be able to see it and enjoy it for many many years in the future.

See a quicktime movie of this event : download here.

Greg Dyke - Hariprasad - Viram Jasani

Virendra sharma MP and Hazel Ware - Mayoress of Ealing and other guests

TAIKO drumming workshop

Lucy Duran introducing Hariprasad Chaurasia

Hariprasad Chaurasia and audience in the MUSIC ROOM of the new Centre

NADASWARAM  and Thavil

PETER WIEGOLD  and FERGHANA

Guests at the launch

Qiu Zheng Hui  playing ERHU

UNNATI  and SPIRITUAL JUNCTION

July 2007

The period May/June/July has been one of the busiest times for the AMC with four superb tours/events with concerts from Cornwall to Scotland - Shehnai Ensemble, Folk music from Rajasthan, wonderful qawali with the Nizami and Niyazi brothers and finally another highly successful AMC summer school - celebrating its 10th anniversary !

The AMC produced a concert on the 22nd July 2007 at the Barbican of surprising and wonderful variety ! Ustad Ghulam Ali the ghazal singer performed in the first half and in the second half the legendary master of Kathak Pt Birju Maharaj enthralled the almost full house with his inimitable art. The second half was made all the more unusual because the fabulous khyal singers Rajan and Sajan Misra not only sang their individual item but sang with Pt Birju Maharaj's dance - the first time this has happened in the UK - although this event has been shown in India several times. The variety, and excellence of the music and dance made for a magical evening with many people from the audience wondering how such a unique idea developed and wanted more !!

On the previous day Ustad Zakir Hussain presented an evening at the Nehru Centre organised by his sister in which there was a film and discussion to celebrate the life of their father Ustad Allah Rakha Khan the famous tabla player. As interesting as it was some members of the audience were left a little puzzled as it was suggested that Ustad Allah Rakha Khan was the first tabla player to develop solo performance for tabla. This appeared to dismiss the contribution of great masters like Ustad Thirakhwa Khan, Habibuddin Khan, Amir Hussain, Pt. Kante Maharaj to name a few and in fact ignoring entirely the great solo traditions of Delhi- Ajrada- Farrukhabad - Varanasi. Names such as Annokhelal, Shamta Prasad also come to mind. Could it have been that the emotion of the occasion took over on that day?

The atmosphere at this years summer school was wonderful - with the AMC providing lovely Gujarati lunch everyday from that excellent caterer- Pradips. Everyone who bought lunch thoroughly enjoyed it. The recitals of Chinese and Japanese music were outstanding and the audience figures were well up on last year. For the first time it was felt that the audiences for Chinese and Japanese music and tuition were beginning to relate the AMC to this specific area and were now beginning to attend both the summer school as well as the concerts in better numbers.There is still a lot more work to be done! Unfortunately some people had to be turned away from the concert of dhrupad and thumri as the hall was full!

The performance given by Bireshwar Gautam of thumri and abhinaya was just outstanding generating an atmosphere extremely rarely experienced in the UK and much closer to the "courts" and "music rooms" of great houses and palaces of INDIA. This is music that should not be missed as this art form is dying and performed by very very few people and hardly anyone of Bireshwar Gautams standing. The seminar given by Anindya Bannerjee on the SAROD was another outstanding feature of the summer school. The aim of such seminars is to give the participants an experience and open doors to a world beyond their own particular discipline. Anindya - who is a master of his instrument - has done a lot of research on the subject of the sarod and its development. His talk was illustrated with slides and audio recordings and was fascinating as were the old recordings he used as illustrations. The enthusiasm at the summer school this year was such that there was a clear demand for the AMC to hold a mid-term school and not leave such a long gap of a year before the next summer school. It takes a huge effort to put on such an event and all praise goes to the AMC education team and helpers for a superb effort.

Till next time.....

March 2007

The AMC launches its first tour to see parts of India through its music. With its partners Cox & Kings Travel -  UK's leading tour operator to that country. Learn more about the life of music in India on the tour 24th Nov to 7th Dec 2007. A journey not to be missed !  see the flyer.....

February 2007

Viram Jasani of the Asian Music Circuit has been awarded an honorary degree by the University of York. The degree - DUniv - will be conferred upon him at a ceremony at the University of York in March 2007. The degree is awarded in recognition of Viram's achievements and his contribution to our society in the field of music.

Viram feels deeply honoured and says that it is also a significant recognition of the work of the Asian Music Circuit and the importance of the music of Asia in our society.He won the Asian Achievers Award in 2003 in the Arts and Culture category. The AMC won the prestigious HSBC Indo-British Award in 2003. Viram is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures (FRSA).

Read Viram Jasani's graduation ceremony speech here...

January 2007

Pandits Rajan and Sajan Misra - the great KHYAL singers from Varanasi will be honoured by the Indian Government with the titles of PADMA BHUSHAN in March 2007.

This award is seen as a recognition of their very unique and outstanding contribution to the world of Indian classical music. Their steadfast loyalty to the great traditions of Indian classical music is to be praised in a world where such traditions are being lost to a process of Westernisation in a fusion of world music.

We hope that it is also a recognition of just how marvellous Indian classical music is !

The AMC congratulates Rajan Misra and his brother Sajan Misra on their wonderful achievement.

2006

May 2006

The Asian Music Circuit is delighted announce that it has made an agreement with the Cox & Kings Travel - one of the worlds leading travel companies. Cox & Kings have very generously agreed to sponsor the AMC over the next three years. An exciting aspect of the new partnership is the setting up of tours to Asian countries to see these countries through the music. The specialist itineraries are being set up by the AMC and all tour logistics will be handled by the long experienced Cox  & Kings Travel.  The first tour  is proposed for January 2007 to India, it is hoped that this will soon  be followed by tours to China, South East Asia and Central Asia. WATCH THIS SPACE  for announcements of dates and also visit the website of Cox & Kings on www.coxandkings.co.uk

Asian Music Centre

The AMC is pleased to announce that building and design work on its new Asian Music Centre has been completed and the creation of the exciting audio-visual database of Asian music is underway with material being programmed to allow the visitor to enjoy the innovative concept. Workshops are now being arranged at the Centre. Please visit the education and resource centre pages for details.

2005

Tuesday 13 December 2005

As winter tightens its grip on the region struck by the recent earthquake in Pakistan with 75,000+ fatalities recorded and several million families displaced, Asia House and the Asian Music Circuit, in association with the Pakistan Britain Trade & Investment Forum (PBTIF), present a major Pakistan Earthquake Appeal concert and dazzling fashion show at London 's Royal Albert Hall.

Up to 5,000 tickets will be available from £10-£35 for this unique opportunity to hear music by world class South Asian musicians and see the latest designs by high street fashion retailer Monsoon in a glamorous catwalk show with Liza B, model and actress. The event is also supported by Nina Wadia, actress and star of 'Goodness Gracious Me'. The Pakistan High Commissioner, Her Excellency Maleeha Lodhi, has pledged her support and a distinguished guest list from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, culture and media celebrities will also be involved.

Television presenter Michael Palin says, " Having seen and admired the tenacious way of life and whole-hearted hospitality of the mountain people of Pakistan , I urge you to join me in giving continued support to the earthquake relief effort".

Stefan Kosciuszko, Chief Executive of Asia House and Viram Jasani of Asian Music Circuit say, "We are delighted to work with the Pakistan High Commission, the PBTIF, The Monsoon Trust and all of the Indian and Pakistani artists and sponsors to stage this vibrant event combining business and culture. Please join us and show a meaningful demonstration of UK public support and sympathy to the people of Pakistan ."

All net proceeds will be equally donated to The President's Fund, Islamic Relief, Learning for Life and the Eidhi Foundation.

Musicians include:

Ghulam Ali - one of the world's most influential ghazal singers

Nizami Brothers and Taufiq Niazi - this qawwali group from Old Delhi perform songs in the traditional classical style accompanied by harmonium, tabla and dhol. Qawwali has its origins in the songs of praise of Sufiism

GARAJ - Waseem Niaz, Imran Ahmed and Karam Abbas fuse classical Pakistani sound with Western music

Sajjad Ali - and his Crazy Band - sings and plays contemporary Pakistani classical and pop music

Gauri Sharma and her group perform an innovative interpretation of the ancient Indian kathak dance form

Tuesday 13 December 2005, 7.15pm

Royal Albert Hall, (address)

Box office 020 7589 8212, www.royalalberthall.com

Tickets £10 - £35

For further press information and images please contact Lucy Wilson, Theresa Simon Communications 020 7629 9645 lucy@theresasimon.com or Natasha Singh, Sterling Media 020 7801 0077

Asia House promotes understanding of Asian cultures, economies and societies from its new public headquarters at 63 New Cavendish Street , London W1. For further information on Asia House please contact Helen Whiteoak or Natasha Aziz 020 7307 5454

The Asian Music Circuit is the UK 's leading company promoting the music of Asia alongside an exciting education programme across Britain . For further information on Asian Music Circuit please contact Elie Gussman 020 8742 9911

WOMEX  26th - 30th October 2005

The Asian Music Circuit has been attending the WOMEX  world music trade for several years now, and this year WOMEX comes to the UK and to THE SAGE, in Gateshead, Newcastle. The AMC will once again have their stand there number C 17.

Our stand this year is being sponsored by COBRA BEER. We are pleased in invite our current clients and  potential future clients to join us for a beer at our stand C17 and discuss mutual programming or to book  artists from our exciting programme in 2006/7.

See images from the new centre here.

Building work commenced in January 2005 to make  the existing two units into one. A new staircase with stainless steel and glass balustrading has been installed along with platform lift from the reception to the office and a lift from the reception to the first floor The entire building has been rewired , with a new kitchen area and decorated. The Centre has a spacious reception area on ground floor level at the entrance with access to cloakroom facilities. Another spacious reception area is at first floor level. The entire building is now made up of two reception areas, the museum room which will house the display cabinets for musical instruments, the "sensor" and "virtual" room; the office for the AMC education team will also be on ground floor. The display cabinets for the instruments should be in place by around mid-october, while the multi-media installation is making good progress and should be in place by the end of October.

The first floor has the  beautiful room with curved ceiling where students can have hands-on experience of instruments , watch films , attend seminars, lectures and workshops and attend "listening sessions"; the first floor also has a "study" room where one can access the AMC's extensive digital audio-visual archive of  music to study or simply enjoy.

Work on the digital archive and music library has made good progress, but of course is an "on-going" process as more and more material is added to our collection. Data cabling is now almost complete.

We hope to start using  the Centre  by November/December  with workshops with our local schools and members of the public but we hope to formally open this most exciting and unusual facility by Spring 2006.

DON'T MISS WORLD ROUTES ON BBC RADIO 3 ON SATURDAY 10 TH SEPTEMBER 2005 AND SATURDAY 17 TH SEPTEMBER 2005 AT 3PM GMT

AMC's Viram Jasani goes with Lucy Duran - presenter of BBC RADIO 3's WORLD ROUTES - to India in search of the romantic music associated with the Hindu deity KRISHNA

Their journey takes them to Gujarat to meet a community of cowherds to witness their magnificent dancing and singing.

Legend has it that the cowherds and the milkmaids brought KRISHNA up and his life among them was the inspiration for so much in the dance and music of India .

Hear the great Gujarati folk singer PRAFUL DAVE sing the romantic songs about KRISHNA in a remote village in Kathiawad.

The journey continues to Kolkata in Bengal to find that in the red light district, courtesans sing romantic styles of thumri which were originally in praise of KRISHNA; the amazing BAULS - the "mad philosophers of Bengal" in their traditional setting in their ashram performing their vibrant, sensuous and esoteric music.They trace their origins back to the VAISHNAV movement.

The journey ends in Varanasi - the home of the romantic styles of singing thumri, chaiti, Kajri, dadra among others - to be present at a "mujra" especially arranged for the team to listen to traditional courtesan music in its more classical setting.

1 October 2004
SHOBHA GURTU

The AMC was extremely privileged to have worked closely with the great singer SHOBHA GURTU - and this makes it all the more sad for us to know that she is no more. She suffered a heart attack and passed away on the 27th September 2004.

This really is the passing away of not just a great singer but an entire way of life, a very special ambience and an era of musicianship that we can now only dream about.

Saturday 13 March 2004
USTAD VILAYAT KHAN

The world has lost one of its most significant musicians : Ustad Vilayat Khan
the great maestro of the sitar and Indian classical music passed away in Mumbai on Saturday 13th March evening.

The loss to Indian music and to the wider world of music is immeasurable. Indian musicians and lovers of Indian music everywhere will be mourning the demise of a unique, creative virtuoso who took with him a touch and style that will never be repeated.

Ustad Vilayat Khan's contribution to Indian music and in particular to sitar-playing was outstanding and everlasting. Many have tried to emulate his powerful technique and beautiful tone but the memory of Vilayat Khan's sound will always remain an ideal.

A major part of the already tiny remainder of the golden era of Indian classical music has now gone - that connection with a very special ambience and mijaz, an extraordinary and most creative approach to performance characterized by a strong grounding in tradition and history, full of integrity and authority - has gone for ever.

2003

15 September, 2003
Helen Evans, the AMC Educaiton Officer has a healthy baby girl.

BBC Radio 3 - World Routes

Lucy Duran and James Parkin of BBC Radio 3's World Routes programme were accompanied by AMC's Viram Jasani to North India in December 2002.

They visited Varanasi interviewing and listening to the great singers Rajan and Sajan Misra at their home ; recording some rare and exquisite Vedic Chants and witnessing the famous "AARTI" ceremony on the banks of the Ganges. Their musical journey took them to Delhi to record the beautiful SHEHNAI playing of Satish Prakash and the Sufi Qawwali of the Nizami Brothers at the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya.

This was followed by an adventurous journey to Rajasthan - the "Land of the Kings" where they met one of the worlds experts on Rajasthani folk music - Komal Kothari at his Institute of Rajasthan Folklore in Jodhpur. They visited villages near Jodhpur as well as on the far Western end of the Thar desert near Jaisalmer where they recorded the wonderful music of young talented singers and instrumentalists in the folk tradition of Rajasthan.

Their journey ended in Mumbai where they met Anuradha Pal and nominees for the BBC World Music Awards, Trilok Gurtu and Alka Yagnik.

Learn more about this exciting journey and hear the artists by tuning in to the BBC Radio 3 website

These programmes were broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 World Routes in February 2003

NOT TO BE MISSED! BBC Radio 3 World Routes

February, 2003

SANGAM: THE MEETING POINT

Michael Nyman and Indian Masters U Shrinivas, Rajan and Sajan Misra
give the London premiere of their groundbreaking collaboration at the HSBC INDO-BRITISH Award Concert marking the presentation of this prestigious award plus the launch of the Young Asian Music Circuit.

2002

December 2002

BBC World Service 70th Global Party.

To celebrate 70 years of international broadcasting with the BBC, they broadcast three hours of live music from 5 cities around the world!

Click here for more details and what part the Asian Music Circuit played!

October, 2002
Work on the Asian Music Centre begins with the purchase of a new building with support from the The Arts Council of England in the form of an Arts Capital Programme Award from the National Lottery Fund. We are hoping to start using the building for educational work in Autumn 2003. In the meantime, keep coming back to find out the latest developments. For more info click here.

24 September, 2002
Asian Music Circuit launches new website.

August 2002
AMC announces the proposal of an Asian Music Centre; a stimulating, hands-on environment in which people from all backgrounds can study and learn about the beautiful music of the Asian continent.

July 2002

Trilok Gurtu @ the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 19th July
The renowned Indian bandleader performed "African Fantasy" (ESC) and "Beat of Love" (Universal) compositions and premiered work from his newly recorded album "Remembrance"(Universal released Oct 2002) with his new band featuring Sabine Kabongo and Jerry Lipkins. His special guest was Ronu Majumdar the remarkable Indian Bansuri (Bamboo flute) player who performed a short set with his own band."

Click here to view exclusive pictures

Sangam: The Meeting Point
Michael Nyman meets Indian Masters: Rajan and Sajan Misra and U Shrinivas

UK and WORLD PREMIERE! @ The Lowry, Manchester

This special project presented, for the first time in the UK, the unique collaboration between prominent British composer Michael Nyman (best known for his film scores for Peter Greenaway films and Jane Champion's The Piano) and leading Indian classical musicians, mandolin sensation U Shrinivas and the masters of khyal vocals, Rajan and Sajan Misra. The project initiated by the Asian Music Circuit was the first ever collaboration on a large-scale work between a major figure in British contemporary music and India's finest classical musicians, based on a unique artistic partnership shared and developed over the past two years, initiated during an exploratory journey to India, funded by the British Council. There has been further funding from The Arts Council to explore the creative aspects of this unique collaboration. This was the closing performance of the Cultural Programme leading up to the Commonwealth Games held in Manchester.
Watch this space for news of the release of the CD of this unique collaboration.

Click here to view exclusive pictures.