Roopa Panesar to close ‘Women in Arts’ programme
One of the UK’s leading sitar players will be plying her trade in Leeds next month as crowds are treated to a selection of melodious tunes in the city centre.
Leicester-born Roopa Panesar will be performing as part of South Asian Arts-uk’s (SAA-uk) ‘Women in Arts’ programme which comes to a climatic end on Saturday 7th March.
The talented musician broke the trend in the classical world of Indian music when she arrived on the scene, building up a reputation as one of the world’s finest female sitar players, and is one of only few UK acts to be recognised in India.
Trained by sitar maestro and educationalist, Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE, her most recent tour of the South Asian country saw her sell out venues in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata whilst her presence in England also continues to grow.
Over the last year, SAA-uk has recognised the women of the Indian music community by holding a series of performances across Yorkshire, celebrating their musical achievements.
The inclusion of Roopa’s performance on the final night of the project is a ‘fitting end’ according to SAA-uk chief executive, Keranjeet Kaur Virdee.
She said: “Our Women in Arts series wouldn’t be complete without a performance from Roopa, and what better way to end the programme than by inviting her to share her talent with the Leeds College of Music.
“Roopa is regarded as one of the best Sitar players to come out of the UK and, coupled with Shri Bhupinder Singh Chaggar’s talents on Tabla the evening promises to be a fantastic event.”
SAA-uk’s Women in Arts programme has seen varied performances over the last year, including children’s stories and shows about the oppression of women.
Keranjeet added: “The programme has proved a huge success over the last twelve months, with performances from lots of inspiring women really showing the value of female performers.
“SAA-uk plays an important role in celebrating these women’s wonderful talents and we are delighted that so many have enjoyed the programme.
“The arts are a wonderful mechanism for joy and happiness that enables people to come together. We are thrilled to be a part of it.”
The sitar has been a prominent instrument in Indian Classical and Hinduistic music since the 16th century.
The instrument has also become popular in the West with bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones adopting the rich, exotic sound, with ‘Norwegian Wood’ by The Beatles, becoming the first song to introduce the plucked string instrument to the Western World in 1965.
Tickets can be purchased directly from Leeds College of music or by visiting www.lcm.ac.uk
