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Akron Symphony Orchestra + Druk Fusion Band = Good Music |
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Threatening skies gave way to a warm and
somewhat humid evening at the Firestone Metro Park on Sunday evening of July 24.
Several hundred people brought lawn chairs to sit in front of a large,
portable stage for a concert by the Akron Symphony Orchestra (ASO).
What made this concert special for Bhutanese Community Association of
Akron (BCAA) members was that Puspa Gajmer and the Druk Fusion Band
performed Ukali Orali Haruma, a traditional Nepali song arranged by Nati
Kaji and Roger Zahab. It was an
auspicious moment for musicians in the Akron refugee artistic community. |
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 People were arriving early as the ASO was setting up for the concert |
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 Jacob Sustaita, Assistant Conductor, ASO, welcomed the Nepali musicians to the stage and the air was filled with the lyrics and melody of a traditional Nepali love song |
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 Christopher Wilkins conducting the ASO and featuring the Druk Fusion Band This collaboration of the ASO and the Druk Fusion Band may be a first |
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Many people brought chairs and blankets to enjoy an evening of light
classical music of such pieces as Bernstein's Candide Overture, Bugler's
Holiday by Leroy Anderson, the Andante and Hungarian Rondo by Weber
performed superbly by violist Aaron Mossburg, Espana by Chabrier, Dance
of the Buffoons by Rimsky-Korsakov, and Procession of the Sardar by
Ippolitov-Ivanov. Music excited the ears through a relaxing evening.
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The lead vocalist was Puspa Gajmer and also performing were
Bishnu Sunar (rhythm guitar and vocal), Arun Gajmer (tabla), Tek
Sinchuri (madal), and Subash Ghatani (Harmonium). With the superb
reinforcement of orchestral strings, woodwinds, brass, and
percussion of the ASO the
effect was transforming. |
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The concert was also a family event. Puspa Gajmer and Christopher Wilkins began planning at the Nepali Kitchen months before the concert |
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| On behalf of its members, BCAA would like to thank the City of Akron for sponsoring these concerts, Kyle Kutuchief of the Knight Foundation for suggesting such a cultural collaboration, Christopher Williams for bringing together the musical talents to make it happen, and Roger Zahab for attending rehearsals by the Druk Fusion Band and writing the orchestral arrangement. | |||||
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