Soumik Datta: Borderlands

Time zones, migrant memories and displaced rhythms collide in an original score for sarod and chamber orchestra. 

Award-winning sarod player and composer Soumik Datta is the Philharmonia’s Artist in Residence for the 2023/24 season. This evening celebrates the culmination of his year-long collaboration with Philharmonia players to explore the theme of migration through his new score titled ‘Borderlands’. 

At times the stage is an airport concourse. The players arrive at a customs desk where rapid-fire, spoken rhythms are answered by chromatic flute lines and thundering timpani strikes. Cinematic strings soar above sarod and tabla solos punctuated by electronic samples, political commentary and personal narratives. 

Multifaceted and evocative, the performance weaves through a series of syncopated, polyphonic movements to offer a compelling perspective on migration, inviting audiences to reflect on the human experience of displacement, tolerance and home.  

The production lasts 75 minutes and is suitable for all ages. 

Co-produced by the Philharmonia and Soumik Datta Arts, with support from Arts Council England, Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking, Southbank Centre Studio and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor-advised fund held at The London Community Foundation.