when music builds bridges

“Music is a way for us to build bridges,” says former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, founder of the South Asian Symphony Foundation (SASF) and its orchestra. It was founded with the fundamental goal of using music as a universal language to overcome global division, conflict, and rising nationalism.

The organisation, which launched its orchestra in 2019 uniting musicians from various South Asian countries and the diaspora to promote collaboration, connectivity and mutual understanding through cultural and civil diplomacy, will hold two events in the city this weekend.

On Friday, 28 November, SASF will present a lecture titled ‘Strings Across the Ocean’ by Katherine Scofield, Professor of South Asian Music and History and Head of the Department of Music at King’s College London.

According to the program announcement, this talk follows that long, interconnected history through the journey of stringed instruments: objects that silently carry culture across empires, oceans and eras, reflecting cultural entanglement, the circulation of musical ideas, and the power of sound to bridge distance.

“From the short-necked veena of ancient Gandhara, which traveled west to become the medieval European lute, to the Italian violin that arrived on colonial ships in the 16th century, before transforming into a beloved Carnatic instrument, the movement of strings reveals centuries of exchange. Today’s global sitars and electric guitars continue that story of evolution and mutual influence,” it says.

The talk will be followed by a recital on November 29 by the South Asian Symphony Orchestra (SASO), comprising approximately 120 musicians from across South Asia, the South Asian diaspora in the United States and Europe, as well as choirs from Bengaluru and Chennai.

Nirupama says she is particularly impressed by “who sits in the orchestra”. You have musicians from different parts of South Asia, different languages, training, even life stories – but once they start playing, those differences don’t disappear, they become strengths. This is a very real picture of coexistence.

Led by SASO’s Resident Conductor Alvin Arumugam, the orchestra will perform a variety of music, including Carnatic Nottuswara arrangements, timeless tunes from Raj Kapoor’s films, choral and vocal music with German, French, Italian and English arias, with the centerpiece of the concert being the powerful Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven, which “feels like it was written for exactly what we’re trying to do.” Are,” says. Nirupama said that it is about human solidarity and shared happiness. “This is exactly the spirit of SASF. When we present it in Bengaluru, it’s not just a musical choice; it’s a statement about the world we want to imagine.”

In his opinion, both the talks and the concerts are connected to the larger purpose of the Foundation: the lectures focus on how cultures have always influenced each other through music, while the concerts reflect that idea in real life, “Musicians from different countries sit together and create something together. That’s really the core of the Foundation’s existence.”

‘Strings Across the Ocean’ will be held on November 28 at 6.30 pm at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur, while the South Asian Symphony Orchestra (SASO) will perform at the Prestige Center for Performing Arts, Konanakunte on November 29 from 7 pm onwards.