LAHORE: Budding stars of the Alhamra Academy of Performing Arts on Tuesday performed at a music evening at the Alhamra Art Center, The Mall.

The event meant to mark the music day featured both singers and instrumentalists who won appreciation from the audience. Lahore Arts Council Executive Director Farhat Jabeen was the chief guest.

No other government institution in Lahore bothered to celebrate the World Music Day though the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture, the Punjab Council of Arts, and Shakir Ali Museum which falls under the Pakistan National Council of Arts boast a lot of activities to promote culture.

The day is observed on June 21 the world over. It was first celebrated in Paris, France, in 1982.

The evening at Alhamra had a good ambiance as it was organised at Adabi Baitak. A stage having red carpet was prepared and live orchestra and performances by energetic singers and musicians gave the audience a whiff of fresh air. The special feature of the evening was that all the artistes were from the Alhamra Academy of Performing Arts. The event was moderated by noted guitarist Sajjad Tafu and academy supervisor Naveen Roma. Academy in-charge Muhammad Arif made arrangements to make it a memorable event.

The combination of rain and music made things alluring. The music evening had a lofty lineup of singers and musicians who enthralled the audience with performances. The very first performance was a lovely one by a bunch of violinists from the violin class of the Academy, who presented a fusion of eastern and western music. They were appreciated with a thunderous round of applause.

Then came flute player Tayyaba Nazir, a student of Ustad Naushad, an eminent flute player, who entertained the audience with a folk tune. A guitar performance by young boys and girls also left music lovers in the awe of tunes, especially when played together by young guitarists aged between 10 and 12 years.

Shazia, another student of the Academy and a pupil of classical maestro Hussain Bakhsh Guloo, spell-bound the audience with the rendition of a ghazal Raat Theri Hai Teray Surmaiee Anchal Ki Tarah. Another Academy student, Zara, sang Sami Meri Var and won acclaim.

Singer Abdul Rauf stole the show by singing two items which the audience thoroughly enjoyed.

He sang Piyar Nahi Hai Sur Say Jis Ko Wo Murkh Insaan Nahi and another light song Khaan Khaan Shor Machaye Kangan Sonay Ka. Rauf was followed by Sitarist Shanzay, a student of noted Sitarist Ustad Saleem Khan, and she played Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ghazal Guloon Mein Rang Bharay Bad e Nau Bahar Chalay. The last performance of the evening was by Sajjad Tafu who played on guitar the famous song of yesteryear’s film Aieena, Mujhay Dil Say Na Bhulana.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022