Maestros at work: The magic of music

‘Such events provide a platform to musicians to reach a wider audience’

LAHORE:

The evening session of the fourth day of the All Pakistan Music Conference opened to an enthusiastic audience of around 300 people.

Muhammad Akram and Ghazanfar Ali, a duo from Bahawalpur, played Rajasthani folk to a spellbound audience. Hall 3 of Alhamra Arts Centre, The Mall, rang with appreciative applause as their performance ended.

The evening featured stellar performances including Rajasthani folk, instrumental, ghazal and light classical performances by several upcoming and renowned classical musicians of the country. The grand finale of Thursday’s evening session featured Ustad Shafqat Salamat Ali Khan who enthralled the audience with a thumri and a kafi.

Other key performers included Akmal Qadri on the flute; Hussain Bakhsh Gullu who performed a kafi and a thumri; Taj Buledi – a leading group of folk singers from Quetta; Ustad Habibur Rehman – who teaches at the National College of Arts; Sultan Muhammad Chaney from Balochistan who played the rubab; Ghulam Muhamamd Chand sang a kafi; Anita Tarif who performed a dadra; and Aslam Lohar.

Organiser Ghazala Irfan told The Express Tribune that the conference was dedicated to the APMC’s former president Javed Qureshi who passed away earlier this year. She said the session on Wednesday evening focused on the legacy of gharanas and featured second and third generations of several gharanas. “Rafaqat Ali’s son did an amazing job... he left the audience spellbound,” Irfan said. She said the APMC provided these children a platform to present their talent before a wider audience. The conference will continue till Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2014.