Roop Verma
Roop Verma is an internationally respected sitarist, composer and an accomplished teacher of Indian classical and sacred music. His training comes from some of the greatest masters of our time: Maestros Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan and Swami Brahmananda Saraswati and Swami Shyam of the Himalayas. He has lectured and taught at major universities on three continents and has played high-profile concerts in the most prestigious concert halls of Europe, North and South America and India. He recently composed original music for the forthcoming Dalai Lama Renaissance documentary, narrated by the actor Harrison Ford and produced by Wakan Films. He was the featured artist and composer of a special work for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1995 and, as an honored guest of the Belgian government at the Anderlecht Cultural Center in Brussels. His memorable 1997 concert at Berwaldhallen concert hall in Stockholm, Sweden, was produced by Sveriges Radio and Television and is one of many recordings of his music. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Award for 2006 as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., and is the director of the East-West School of Music in Monroe, N.Y., where he teaches summer and winter courses with special focus on instrumental music.
Acharya Verma is considered as one of the pioneers of musical neoimpressionism, with critics observing the magic of his music in his unique way of expressing human awareness.
FROM THE COMPOSER
" Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra "
Integrating a Western instrumental ensemble with an Indian sitar, this melodic and harmonic concerto in three movements takes a journey through legends, mythology and mystery to help us realize, through bridging the great musical traditions of East and West, our common sacred musical heritage and our quest for a fuller and richer spiritual life. A vocal prelude (Alaap) includes the serene, silky voice of the spiritual singer Deepak Kumar Pareek and Naren Budhakar on tabla (a pair of small drums played with the hands).
As the painter imitates the forms and colors from Nature, the musician imitates sounds, accents, volumes and modulations of tones through which Nature expresses herself. This makes music an expression of consciousness. Therefore, it can be expressed in infinite ways and yet maintain its spiritual essence. This music is an example of the journey I have taken for quite some time. Exploring the sitar has been my passion and I am greatly honored by this opportunity to share my inner visions of decades with you this evening. -Roop Verma In this work, the distinct identity of sitar is preserved by embracing the common elements which bridge the great musical traditions of East and West, thus opening another window for the realization of our common sacred musical heritage on Earth. The melodic phrases you hear can be distinguished and recognized during solos and interactions between the sitar and orchestra, but may not be identified as Indian Ragas, which follow an altogether different set of rules. The concerto was inspired by a poem from Portuguese literature (translated by Lourdes Lopez):
Como tu queres, senhor sou teu
Tu és oleiro, o barro sou eu
Quebra, transforma até que, enfi m, tua beleza se
veja em mim
As you want it,
Lord, I am yours
You are the potter
And clay I am
Break it, transform it,
Until, at last!
Your beauty can be seen in me
Each of the concerto’s three movements begins with a sitar solo reflecting individual themes:
Seeking: The journey one takes in search of the realization that he/she is not separate from God.
Serenity: An all-embracing light which guides our way during this journey and which calms down all human cravings and longings. It is the beginning of peace and freedom.
Ecstasy: Celebration of the connecting of human heart and soul, the meeting of the individual consciousness with Supreme Consciousness. The Cosmic Dance begins!
