BRONX, NY (TIP): Bronx Arts Ensemble (BAE) will present on April 7, 2018 at 7.30 P.M. at Lovinger Theatre, Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Blvd West, Bronx, NY, a concert named East Meets West.  Indian artists Amaan Ali Bangash and his brother Ayaan Ali Bangash, along with members of BAE will perform a concert designed to weave together the cultures of the East and West.

According to Ayaan, the aim is to “joyfully explore the common musical ‘DNA’ of both traditions. “The Bangash brothers will perform on the sarod, a large string instrument similar to the sitar; it is a member of the lute family, indigenous to Hindustani classical music. A third player, Amit Kavthekar, performs on tabla, a pair of small, single-headed drums held between the legs. BAE members include violinists Jorge Ávila and Francisca Mendoza, violist Sally Shumway, cellist Eliana Mendoza, flutist Theresa Norris, and bassoonist Atsuko Sato.

The Bangash brothers will perform on the sarod, a large string instrument similar to the sitar; it is a member of the lute family, indigenous to Hindustani classical music. A third player, Amit Kavthekar, performs on tabla, a pair of small, single-headed drums held between the legs. BAE members include violinists Jorge Ávila and Francisca Mendoza, violist Sally Shumway, cellist Eliana Mendoza, flutist Theresa Norris, and bassoonist Atsuko Sato.

All the musicians will perform Samaagam (Sanskrit meaning confluence or flowing together), a new piece composed by the Bangashs. According to Ayaan, “We worked to preserve the essence of both Indian and Western musical traditions so that they can both flow artistically. We used pre-Bollywood Indian orchestration, combined with compatible Western musical stye”

Other works on the program will be performed only by the Bangashs and Kavthekar. Tribute to Tagore utilizes folk music from western Bengal known as Bhatiyali, a type of music sung by boatmen on a river.

It has poetry written in 1905 by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and music composed in the 1960s by Amjad Ali Khan. The message of the poem, entitled Ekla Cholo, is that if no one responds to your call, you must walk on your path alone.

In Classical Indian music there is no written score, so improvisation takes hold once the initial composition is presented. Ayaan points out, “The musicians on stage don’t know what the other is going to do and yet have to perform like a rehearsed orchestra! Our role is really that of three people: the performer, the composer and the conductor.”

Bronx Arts Ensemble brings the power of the arts to neighborhoods across the Bronx through its live music and arts education programs. It presents over 50 live concerts annually to more than 35,000 people, featuring diverse cultures, including classical, Latin, Afro-Cuban, and other world music. BAE’s arts education programs have served over 100,000 Bronx students since 1993 through multi-disciplinary artist residencies during school hours, after-school, and through summer activities that culminate in original auditorium programs and in-school gallery exhibits. For more info: bronxartsensemble.org