An opening of note

The SOI Chamber Orchestra rehearses ahead of their performance at NCPA`s Tata Theatre

On March 1, 2020, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts' (NCPA) resplendent Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, the city witnessed a rare symphony being performed - César Franck's Symphony in D minor, courtesy the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) with conductor Laurent Petitgirard. It marked the end of SOI's spring season and as the applause grew louder post performance, little did we realise that the silence of not being able to hear that for another 10 months - due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns - would be so deafening. So, it is only fitting that SOI's founding music director, Marat Bisengaliev, sums up the feeling of seeing the orchestra perform on stage again as "surreal".

Marat Bisengaliev

NCPA re-opens its doors to the public this week with a concert by the SOI Chamber Orchestra as well as popular music and jazz standards by Soul Yatra, an ensemble that includes musicians Rhys Sebastian, Merlin D'Souza, Saurabh Suman and Jehangir Jehangir. Over a phone call from France, Bisengaliev asserts that the musicians are well-prepared for the event. "They've been practising with the newest technology, both as a group and individually. NCPA also kindly gave an opportunity for groups to come and practise together; there were separate groups made for the viola and cello players, for instance, to rehearse with safety regulations in place. Now, it's time to put the pieces of the jigsaw together," he says.

Chairman Khushroo N Suntook vouches for the safety measures at the venue, which he says are in accordance with rules laid down by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. "We've made sure that all venues, green rooms and washrooms are sanitised, and have introduced temperature and oxygen-level checks upon entry for the safety of our audience," he says. The concert will feature light classics - Vivaldi's concerto for four violins as well as works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky. "We wanted to present something that anyone would enjoy listening to, even those who aren't familiar with Western classical music. There's also one movement of Haydn's cello concerto in C major that will be performed by Salauat Karibayev, who I believe is a world-class cellist," shares Bisengaliev. He also feels that the audience will be supportive of the first socially distanced orchestral concert. "The fact that we didn't have music for a year compensates for all pitfalls."

On: February 3, 7 pm
Log on to: ncpamumbai.com
Cost: Rs 500 onwards