Under the aegis of the Punjab Arts Council and Punjab Sangeet Natak Academi, the evening with the music-makers was a sublime experience, what with the western instruments bassoon, clarinets, organ, violin and guitar blending with the tabla and the harmonium.

The artistes are on a whirlwind tour of Punjab, that started on October 16 in the city, and is scheduled to end with their departure from Delhi on November 9. On November 3 and 4 the performers will perform in the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and at Faridkot.

Brought together by Heritage, a Patiala-based cultural organisation, and the Education Department of Shropshire, United Kingdom, the performance had as many composers as the number of performers, 20 in all. But, whether be it a Punjabi love-song accompanied by Western percussion instruments, or the tabla-player playing along the bassoon and the violin, what came about were pure creations, the softness of the West harmonising with the boldness of the East.

A very enjoyable evening indeed
Patiala: The "East meets West" cultural programme organised by the Shropshire-Punjab Youth Ensemble and Exchange Programme had the audience spellbound for one-and-a-half hour at the Rajindra Gymkhana Lawns yesterday evening.

The 90-minute performance, which began at 9 p.m. and continued till 10.30 p.m, was attended by mostly young boys and girls and some elderly music lovers. The programme began with Simon Canzon's "Hymn to Lord Ram" which immediately caught the attention of the audience and paved the way for further pieces. The most appreciate performances were the percussion instrumental piece "Creation" composed by Patrick Mcardle, "Heer" sung by Punam Chaudhary, "Mirza" by Gurinder Kainth and a rap song, "Sat Sri Akal" composed and sung by Ronanl, a British student and part of the Ensemble.

The Ensemble comprised 10 British and 10 Indian students led by Simon Lancon, Patrick Mcardle, Diana Walion, noted music director Kanwar Iqbal and renowned tabla player master Pavan Kumar Verma.