Bhangra Symphonica
A SWAN PROJECTS PRODUCTION
Bhangra Symphonica:
From the irresistible energy of Bhangra beats and Western Rock, to the meditative calm of devotional songs, all underpinned by an exquisite soundscape of classical strings.
Press Coverage:
“Coventry is recognised as a diverse city that celebrates multiculturalism and this was evident last night when I attend the UK’s first-ever Bhangra Symphonica… an event that blended classical, rock and bhangra music and bought together people from all walks of life. The audience participated in every aspect of the singing and dancing… I was amazed to see everything blend together so naturally, it was truly like nothing I have seen before and I felt a sense of pride in the diversity. Ammy Pibial was there with her mother and mother’s partner, and said she had never seen anything like it before in Coventry “and that’s what makes it exciting – there was such a vibrancy in the room tonight. Everybody was up on their feet and dancing; nobody had any inhibitions and I think that is the power of Bhangra music””
Saskia Masaun, Coventry Evening Telegraph
“The balmy air was rent by the unmistakable notes of Bach’s cello suite 1 prelude and we all sighed for the familiar splendour of it. Within moments, the choral vocals of devotional Sikh shabads (hymns) had seamlessly joined the sound, accompanied by the guttural thrum of dhol and tabla. There was perfect harmony for a spell and then, just as the violins, cellos and T”violas with a sudden swelling seemed about to overwhelm matters the plangent notes of an harmonium cut through the air in a moment that made the hairs stand up on the back of one’s neck. It was a moment of penetrating and numinous beauty, somehow combining music of the streets with that of the temple and that of the chamber or symphony hall.”
Brijinder Singh
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Photography by Eugene McLaughlin
