Swiss Composer to play in Sri Lanka

Colombo, (Asiantribune.com) - The well known Swiss harmonica player, Roland van Straaten, will perform his concert jointly with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka today (June 17) at the Elphinstone Theatre.

The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will be conducted by Ajith Abeysekera.

This cultural event is sponsored by leading commercial organisations in Sri Lanka and the Embassy of Switzerland.

Roland van Straaten, the musician and composer from Switzerland, ranks among the world's best harmonica players. He was invited to Sri Lanka under the patronage of the Embassy of Switzerland. The concert is billed to be an exciting new approach to musical cooperation across borders.

The 'Concerto No. 1 for Harmonica and Orchestra', composed by the soloist himself, and performed for the first time with the Zurich Symphony Orchestra last February, has been welcomed by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka as a challenge; the musicians usually geared to classical music in the strict sense, have taken up the cooperation with van Straaten enthusiastically.

The rehearsals, which are now in progress, show that the Orchestra is eager for this new experience in 'crossover music', as it is called. The 'Concerto No. 1' (since it is the first ever composition for harmonica and orchestra) has a bluesy touch, but a symphonic feel, and will indeed excite the lovers of classical and contemporary world music alike.

In the second part of the evening, the Swiss artist will demonstrate his musical talent in a Solo performance, which will amaze the audience. Van Straaten has developed new playing techniques and experimented on variations of the modest harmonica, to free him from its more limited, conventional sounds and styles.

The blues was the starting point for Straaten's love of harmonica playing, from where he carried it, inspired by influences from the Indian raga to the Argentinean tango, to a new level of world music.

- Asian Tribune