Lok Virsa, Norway promoting musical heritage

Lok Virsa and Norway have joined hands to promote the musical heritage of both countries under a music exchange programme.

A series of musical concerts are currently being held in various schools of twin cities. Norwegian and Pakistani musicians are performing together in fusion in these concerts.

The Norwegian team of musicians includes Nina Fjeldet, violin player; Audun Fremmerlid Skjolberg, guitar player and vocalist; and Rikke van Ommeren, accordion player. The Pakistani musicians are Muhammad Ajmal, ‘tabla’ player; and Shaukat Manzoor Ali, folk artist and harmonium player. The Norwegian musicians are headed by Kjell Thoreby, senior adviser, Rikskonsertene, Oslo.

According to the organisers, the musicians are holding seven school concerts, one concert at Lok Virsa for selected audience, and another concert at the Royal Norwegian Embassy. In school concerts, children of 7-15 years of age are the target audience of the musicians.

The Norwegian musicians arrived in Islamabad on Sunday, and held extensive rehearsals at Lok Virsa with the Pakistani musicians. On the first day of their programme, a concert was held for the students of FG Girls Model School, G-6/2. Over 400 students attended the concert with their teachers. A great enthusiasm was seen among children, as it was a rare opportunity for them to witness such a performance. The same evening, the musicians performed at the Norwegian Embassy in connection with the National Day Celebrations of Norway.

Two exclusive concerts for the students of Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2, and Islamabad College for Boys, G-6/3, were organised on Tuesday. Around 1,000 students from both the institutions participated in the concerts. The students also interacted and performed with the musicians, singing Pakistani and Norwegian popular songs.

Explaining the purpose of the programme, Executive Director Lok Virsa Khalid Javaid informed that the objective is to create awareness among the younger generation, particularly schoolchildren, about the rich musical heritage of Pakistan and Norway.

In the previous stage of the music exchange programme, two Pakistani musicians Ajmal and Shaukat Manzoor visited Oslo in October 2009 and performed in fusion with the Norwegian musicians, who are currently holding concerts in Pakistan.

Commenting on the programme, a student of Class VIII at ICG, Rida, said, “It was a really good experience for us, as the students not only were able to witness the performances of the Norwegian musicians, but also learned a lot about the musical traditions of both the countries.”

Khalid Javaid informed that under the umbrella cultural pact between Pakistan and Norway, a joint institutional cooperation programme was initiated between Lok Virsa and Riksantikvaran (Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage-NDCH) to enhance cross-cultural understanding between the people of Norway and Pakistan, based on the principles of peace, tolerance and harmony.

NDCH is the focal institution in Norway and Lok Virsa is the prime institution in Pakistan whereas Norsk Folkemuseum (Norwegian Folk Art Museum) and Riksconsertene (Norway Concert Organisation) are the Norwegian sub-partners for museum-related activities and music exchange. The Royal Norwegian Embassy at Islamabad is representing the donor organisation Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and monitors the activities of the programme.

The programme also involves other Pakistani and Norwegian institutions within the framework of this cooperation. The significant programme activities revolve around research and documentation, institutional strengthening of Lok Virsa Heritage Museum, exchange of exhibitions, music exchange programme and promotion, institutional strengthening and competence building within Lok Virsa and innovative activities.