JOIN USThe last time they were in the City, they amazed the audience with smooth melodies and rhythms. Now, ‘Toccata Live Concert’ is back for another round and they have vivid plans that will get people on a musical high. The concerts will take place in Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, as part of their sesquicentennial celebrations, starting from August 13.
With a theme of ‘resonance’, they will showcase a 92-member ensemble that includes the 14-member Kenyan Boys Choir and 10 dancers. This year, they are making an effort to bring together African music, which is hardly ever heard, with Western tunes. This potpourri will signal the unification of many nations, voices, talents and cultures.
The concert will be held on August 13, 14 and 15 at 7 pm and August 16 at 3 pm and 7 pm. The founder of the event, Dr Sunil Paulraj, believes in the power of music and is inclusive of local music and talent, wherever he travels. Calling music “magical”, he equates it to medicine and its healing powers. It was in one such concert tour, in Kenya, that he invited the Kenyan Boys Choir to perform with the troupe.
This year’s concert tour begins in Kochi and will try to reach out to the disadvantaged. ‘Toccata’ is donating medical equipment to Shanti Children’s Hospital in Bagalkot, raising funds for the Reaching Hand Foundation in Bengaluru and an NGO called SRVC, which provides vocational training to the visually challenged.
Ian Felton, the British Deputy High Commissioner of Karnataka, said, “‘Toccata’ is a celebration of music and dance for a good cause. Bengalureans must be delighted to host the annual visit by the cultural ambassadors from Northern Ireland led by Bengaluru-born Dr Sunil Paulraj. I’m not the only one who is eager to hear them perform again.”
Affiliated to the prestigious Children of Peace initiative, ‘Toccata’, in its next concert in December, will travel to Israel to bring the Palestinian and Israeli children together to perform with them. This will be in aid of the children.