Bollywood and Beethoven

Inspired by themes of unity and communal celebration, the Westchester Music of India’s (MOI) upcoming concert combines Bollywood and Beethoven to present a unique blending of traditional and modern music – East meets West – along with the world premiere of a reimagined piece of classical music.  The March 26 concert at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College celebrates 75th anniversary of India’s Independence and freedom from colonial rule.

The Westchester Music of India is an all-volunteer nonprofit community chorus that combines Western instruments with specialized Indian instruments and pairs professional performers with amateurs in its local community.

The concert’s program will consist of three parts and will be accompanied by the Yonkers Philharmonic and several specialized Indian instruments. Its first part is a joyous collection of Bollywood freedom songs that celebrate the broad cultural heritage of India. The second part will be a fusion of sitar, sarangi with Western orchestral music inspired by Ravi Shankar.

Following intermission, MOI’s chorus will combine forced with the Hudson Chorale and Westchester Chorus Society to perform one of the most well-known pieces of classical music: Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Traditionally sung in German, it has been translated to Hindi by MOI’s conductor explicitly for this performance. To the group’s knowledge, this will be the first time in history that the piece will be sung in Hindi.