The Sitar Music Society launches the first ever International Sitar Festival in the UK taking place in March 2019 at venues in London, the...
Atulkumar Patel, MBE, a Trustee of The Sitar Music Society, talks to us for South Asian Heritage Month about his society's rich traditions of celebrating the artistry of the sitar and nurturing education, performance, and community appreciation of Indian music and dance.
The Sitar Music Society was set up in 2015, in Leicester, inspired by the ideas and creativity of Ustad Dharambir Singh, MBE — a brilliant sitarist and educator. Although we have a focus on all aspects of the sitar as an instrument, we are rooted in the traditions of North Indian Classical Music.
Indian music has ancient roots. The Natya Sashtra, a treatise from around 500 BC written by the Sage Bharata, gives the earliest evidence of a long-standing, codifed, and highly ordered, musical and rhythmic system that was integrated with dance and theatre.
The central philosophy of Indian music is that entertainment is merely a by-product of artistic performance. Rather, the primary goal of music, and all art, is to transport the audience into a higher state of consciousness, where they can experience the universal joy of their humanity.
Our Society’s objectives are quite broad. In addition to promoting excellence in Sitar performance, the charity also promotes the education of the public in all aspects of Indian Classical music and dance; and in creating opportunities for teaching, mentoring and training in a range of musical instruments and vocal.
We have held summer schools for school children in tabla, bowed instruments (e.g., the dilruba), vocal and sitar; and held Indian Music appreciation sessions covering the history of Indian music and analysing aspects of its performance. In terms of our performance programme, we have organised public events featuring Kathak dance, Dhrupad vocal, the Santoor, the Sarod, and the South Indian Veena and Mridangam.
A typical concert audience would be 50-60 people from all communities and interests; we keep our ticket prices affordable. Our uniqueness is in creating an intimate environment (sometimes without any amplification) — a chamber concert if you will — that allows for greater interplay between audience and performer. We call these ‘baithak concerts' (which literally means 'a sit-down' or 'a meet').
We believe in working with partners — our main one is the Attenborough Arts Centre, which provides us with a venue and ticketing — and we also collaborate with Leicester Cathedral and South Asian arts organisations.
Our aim is to promote young, UK-based artists to give them a platform and audience exposure thereby supporting them to refine their art. We’re really pleased to be members of Making Music from the start — it has been really useful in providing resources and guidance, small grants, and the insurance package.
To learn more about the Sitar Music Society, visit their website and follow them on Facebook
