Ravi Shankar 101
Introduction
Pandit Ravi Shankar was not only an inspirational musician and performer, he also pioneered cross-cultural ways of making music. In 2020 – in what would have been his 101st year – Street Orchestra Live set about exploring his legacy from which collaborative musicians directly benefit today. Guided by experts and Ravi Shankar’s own collaborators, we began a journey into the musics of India, and surveyed their influence on western music, both classical and definitely not classical! The result is our “Ravi Shankar 101” project.
Live Stream Concert 2021
In May 2021 (during a brief gap between lockdowns) we got together for a series of workshops and rehearsals with our guides, Balu Raguraman, Kuljit Bhamra and David Murphy. The result was around 20 minutes of music spanning Catantic melody all the way through to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir. We were grateful for Arts Council England’s support for this weekend, and delighted that Sukanya Shankar could join us for a short performance of her late husband’s orchestral music.
Summer Tour 2021
In late summer 2021, undeterred by events, we committed to taking music back into streets, parks and public areas. With just two days’ rehearsal – including an Indian dance class! – we seized the opportunity with all 80 of our hands to play across London! Joined by guest sitar and tabla players, we gave 10 concerts over the weekend, from Wembley Park in the North to outside an Indian restaurant in Brixton.
Summer Tour 2022
August 2022: In the spirit of Ravi Shankar we collaborated and toured with guest Indian musicians to enrich our town centres with music and promote community cohesion through music making. We visited town centres, shopping areas and public parks around the West Midlands & London with concerts of high-quality diverse music to inspire and delight.
Our tour began with a 1-hour livestream concert so we could share our music with everyone, anywhere! You’re now invited to watch the whole concert on YouTube. Enjoy!
Live Stream Concert 2022
SOL with one of our guest soloists, Kuljit Bhamra MBE (tabla/composer).
Audience Responses
This compilation was made with the kind permission of the contributors.
