An exciting event coming to capital!

Islamabad

If you are a music aficionado, dear reader, here is some exciting news for you. The internationally acclaimed Pakistani Sachal Studio Orchestra -- yes, that’s right, ‘internationally acclaimed’ -- will be performing for the first time in Islamabad! 

The performance has been organised by Development in Literacy (DIL) for its annual fund-raising event and will be held on May 8 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) at 6 p.m. 

The Sachal Studio Orchestra is a group of virtuoso master musicians from Pakistan who incorporate eastern instruments such as the sitar, ‘sarod’, s’arangi’, ‘tabla’ and ‘dholak’ into new interpretations of jazz, blending blues and swings with sophisticated and highly evolved eastern music traditions.

The Sachal phenomenon is a heartening story of renewal and rebirth of an art form. It begins with the vision of Izzat Majeed, a businessman and philanthropist who has been on a personal mission to revive traditional music culture in Pakistan by rediscovering and bringing together Lahore's most talented, yet neglected Lollywood musicians; finding a cellist running a roadside tea stall, a violinist selling vegetables from his bicycle, others selling clothes or electrical parts.

The cover of Dave Brubeck’s ‘Take Five’ propelled the orchestra’s album towards the top of the iTune jazz charts in the US and UK. In a note to Majeed, Brubeck wrote, “Listening to this exotic version of ‘Take Five’ brings back wonderful memories of Pakistan where my Quartet played in 1958. East is East and West is West, but through music the twain does meet.”

Most recently, Sachal has been featured in Oscar winning film producer, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's film, ‘Song of Lahore.’ The film premiered in New York City in Nov 2015 at an event hosted by Meryl Streep. According to Chinoy, ‘Song of Lahore’ is an ode to Pakistan's former self, its lost glory; it's past and for this generation to realize that we had such a rich history and such a rich culture. Our music and our musical past, and our instruments are very much part of the fabric of this country.

Hurry and get your tickets at Pappasallis (Rawalpindi and Islamabad); Ensemble, F-8/4 (next to China Town) and Kitchen Cuisine, F-10 Mobile: 0333-6367367