World Premiere of Symphony of Bansuri set for Artscape

The world premiere of Symphony of Bansuri will take place at the Artscape Opera House on Friday, 2 August.

The one night only concert will feature Grammy Award-winning flautist Rakesh Chaurasia and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), presenting the bansuri – a traditional Indian bamboo flute – in an orchestral setting.

Presented by Inner Circle Entertainment, the production brings together elements of Indian classical music and Western orchestral performance. It follows a series of world premieres by Inner Circle, whose past productions have drawn local and international audiences.

Chaurasia, who is the nephew and disciple of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, won two Grammy Awards in 2024 and is recognised for blending traditional and contemporary styles.

“This project has been years in the making and reflects our continued commitment to world-class musical innovation in South Africa,” said Inner Circle Entertainment founder Nisaar Pangarker.

“To hear the bansuri in dialogue with a full orchestra is not only a sonic revelation but also a symbolic gesture – a meeting of cultures, histories and traditions. We are proud to host this global premiere in Cape Town.”

Chaurasia said: “I have such beautiful memories of my last trip to South Africa in 2016, where I shared the stage with the legendary tabla player late Ustad Zakir Hussain in a series of sold-out concerts. This forthcoming tour is bittersweet, because Zakirji has encouraged me for many years to create a concert accompanied by an orchestra.

Symphony of Bansuri is the culmination of that support and love. Sadly, he is not physically here to witness this – but it will be my very humble tribute to him, and I am sure his soul will be listening and blessing us.”

The performance will be presented as a double bill. The first half will feature a traditional Indian classical recital with bansuri and tabla. The second half will include orchestral arrangements of Indian classical ragas, folk tunes, film melodies and light classical works, with the bansuri as the solo instrument. The orchestra will be conducted by Damian Philander.

Symphony of Bansuri will be at Artscape on Friday August 2 at 7pm. Tickets cost from R200 to R1000 and is available via Ticketmaster or Artscape box office at 021 421 7695.