Australian Indian Orchestra Makes Its Debut

There is a new orchestra in Sydney and it has an unusual twist.

Enter, the Australian Indian Orchestra, (AIO) formed in 2023, the brainchild of the Sydney-based Australian-Indian brothers, Sagar and Suraj Nagaraj. This ensemble will feature some of the best of Indian and Australian musicians, building on the strong links between Australia and India.

The two nations have long enjoyed solid sporting links and share a common history through the Commonwealth. Now, there is a resident joint cultural venture. A first for Australia, it presents a vision of connecting Australians and Indians through music. The AIO will be dedicated to performing Indian music, by Australian and Indian musicians, for audiences through a cultural fusion.

The AIO’s inaugural concert Sydney to Mumbai: A Symphonic Journey to Incredible India will feature some of the most popular Bollywood songs performed by a 60-piece symphony orchestra comprising emerging and established talents from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Sydney Youth Orchestras and led by the Nagaraj brothers.

Sagar, 26, concertmaster of the AIO is an accomplished violinist who has performed with the Australian World Orchestra. Suraj, 20, who will conduct the orchestra has arranged an engaging program of Bollywood songs for the event. Suraj is currently also the concertmaster of the Sydney Youth Orchestra, where he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House.

The orchestra will be joined by Sydney-based vocalists Avijit Sarkar, Ruhani Dhillon, Vikas Kolar, and Rucha Lange with Indian instrumentalists including Abhijit Dan playing tabla, sitar player R. Nagraj, Behzad Ansari playing santour, Mayank Singh and Vijendra playing guitar and Satyajeet Roy playing keyboard and piano. They will perform some of the most memorable songs from celebrated Bollywood movies and artists across the decades including Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.

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