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Australian Indian Orchestra Lights Up With A Diwali Concert
November 10, 2023 @ 7:00 pm
The newly inaugurated 60-piece Australian Indian Orchestra (AIO) returns to the stage with Symphony of Lights: Diwali in Concert to celebrate Diwali and ignite the festive season.
Capturing the true spirit of Diwali, Symphony of Lights: Diwali in Concert brings together 60 of the finest Australian and Indian musicians, singers, and dancers and showcases masterpieces by by Beethoven and Mozart as well as feature the symphonic premiere of A.R. Rahman’s Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
The orchestra will be joined by Sydney-based vocalists Avijit Sarkar, Ruhani Dhillon, Vikas Kolar, and Rucha Lange with Abhijit Dan on tabla, Tanim Khan on sarod, Behzad Ansari on santoor, Mayank Singh on electric guitar, Sadiq Rehmani on acoustic guitar, Bobby Kumar on bass guitar, Satyajeet Roy on keyboard and piano and Preetam Telugu on drums. The concert will feature some memorable songs from celebrated Bollywood movies and artists across the decades, including Mohammed. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Arijit Singh and more. Artistic Director & Conductor of the Australian Indian Orchestra, Suraj Nagaraj, 20, has made symphonic arrangements of the popular songs.
Riding the momentum from the runaway success of their debut sold-out concert Sydney to Mumbai at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music last August, Sydney brothers Sagar and Suraj Nagaraj are bringing back their majestic orchestra to the Chatswood Concourse. The inaugural concert saw audiences delighted with a fusion of Waltzing Matilda played on the sitar and Vande Mataram performed by the trumpets of the AIO. The program featured a variety of lyrical classics to blockbuster tunes and jazz.
The AIO is Australia’s first and only symphony orchestra dedicated to performing Indian music, and the biggest collaboration between Australian and Indian musicians. Its aims to meld the best Indian and Australian orchestral musicians and instrumentalists whilst strengthening the strong link between Australia and India.
Read our interview with Sagar Nagaraj, concertmaster of the AIO.