Classical Music Fest opens today

The Bengal ITC-SRA (Sangeet Research Academy) Classical Music Fest 2012 will be inaugurated this evening at Army Stadium in Dhaka.
The Bengal ITC-SRA (Sangeet Research Academy) Classical Music Fest 2012 will be inaugurated this evening at Army Stadium in Dhaka.
In view of promoting and celebrating the shared legacy of classical music Bengal Foundation and ITC-SRA of Kolkata have organised the four-day annual festival dedicated to the memory of the legendary Ustad Alauddin Khan.
The festival will commemorate other luminaries such as eminent Tagore exponent Waheedul Haque, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Uday Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, all of whose roots can be traced to Bangladesh.
The extravaganza will feature around 100 artistes of both countries including noted music maestros of ITC-SRA. Classical vocal and instrumental music and classical dance numbers will be performed on the opening day.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dipu Moni will inaugurate the festival while Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran will be present as a special guest. Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman will preside over the ceremony. Abul Khair, chairman of Bengal Foundation and Ravi Mathur, executive director of ITC-SRA, will also speak on the occasion.
The featured artistes of the day include: Ustad Ali Ahmad Hussain Khan (shehnai); Omkar Dadarkar (vocal); Ustad Shahadat Hossain (sarod); Vidushi Sujata Mahapatra (Odissi dance); Waseem Ahmed Khan (vocal); Ustad Shahid Parvez (sitar); Pandit Uday Bhawalkar (vocal); Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar (sarod) and Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (vocal).
Bangla daily Prothom Alo is the strategic partner while The Daily Star is a partner of the festival. Maasranga Television and ABC Radio are the telecast and broadcast partners while Ice Media Limited is the media partner of the festival.
Today's programme will start at 6:00pm and will continue throughout the night till 4:30am.