Artists

Soumik Datta – composer & sarod
Gurdain Singh Rayatt – tabla
Nina Harries – double bass
Adrián Varela – violin
Karen Stephenson – cello
Carol Hultmark – viola
Robert Looman – flute
Anna Douglass – french horn
Francesca Lombardelli – percussion
Paddy Davies – percussion
Camilo Tirado – sound engineer & live effects
Zoë Svendsen – dramaturg
Johannaes Beraurer – arranger
Jakob Helling – arranger
Markus Neuwirth – arranger
Simon Daw – set and visual design

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.

Need to know

Prices & Discounts

£10 – £20

Running time

1 hour 15 minutes

Recommended age

Suitable for all ages

Programme notes

Free printed programmes will be available at the venue. Digital programme notes available a week before the event.

Box office

Philharmonia Box Office: 0800 652 6717
Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm

Venue

The Queen Elizabeth Hall building on a sunny day, with people walking on the sidewalk

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London
SE1 8XX

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