A grand musical evening

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is going to be a double delight for the music connoisseurs of the city.  A grandiose musical feast christened 'Gitanjali: An Offering of a Song' on the offing. The concert will see former diplomat Nirupama Rao and two Sri Lankan artists enthrall the city by rendering some of the soul-stirring musical pieces.

The concert is being organised by the Trivandrum Centre for Performing Arts (TCPA) and will be held on Saturday. It will see the former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador rendering some of the finest of musical pieces. She will render the 'Songs of Peace' and will be accompanied by the Sri Lankan artists Neranjan de Silva in piano and Soundarie David Rodrigo on keyboard.

Songs transcending centuries will be rendered at the concert. 'Amazing Grace', the much popular hymn by English poet John Newton which was penned in 18th-century figures in the set of songs that will be sung by Nirupama Rao.

'I'll Sing Thee Songs of Araby', a song composed by Frederick Clay and W G Wills; 19th-century American ballad 'Beautiful Dreamer'; Rabindranath Tagore's prayer song 'Aguner Poroshmoni' and several other classic compositions will be performed.

It was post-retirement from the diplomatic career that Nirupama Rao pursued her career in music.Rao's first commercial album titled 'Peace Is My Dream' was released in December 2017. Soundarie David Rodrigo is the founder and music director of Sri Lanka’s noted female ensemble ‘Soul Sounds’ and has her own music academy, ‘The Soul Sounds Academy’.

Soul Sounds is also the first choir in Sri Lanka to have performed and bagged awards in the international milieu. Neranjan de Silva, a chartered electronics engineer, and a fellow of the Trinity College of Music, London and Licentiate of the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, London (ABRSM) is known for his expertise in electronic keyboard.

Another highlight is the 'In Conversation' programme which will see former diplomats Nirupama Rao and TP Sreenivasan engage in talks. MP Shashi Tharoor will be the guest of honour. The concert which was earlier planned in August 2018 had to be postponed after the floods hit the state.

The programme will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 7 pm.