Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Orchestral Qawwali Announce One-Off Royal Albert Hall Show
Highflying fusion ensemble bring their unique combos of Sufi sonics and lush classical arrangements to London’s illustrious concert venue
Orchestral Qawwali Project’s Abi Sampa and Rushil Ranjan, with dancers Vidya Patel and Tulani Kayani-Skeef ©Andy Paradise
Spirits rejoice: the one-of-a-kind, genre-melding Orchestral Qawwali Project, helmed by composer-arranger Rushil Ranjan, and featuring the soaring vocal incantations of Abi Sampa, continue their meteoric rise to prominence with a special London date at the Royal Albert Hall on May 27.
This unprecedented performance will see qawwali standards and old favourites uniquely reconfigured via an epic, extravagant makeover, Ranjan and Sampa recharging the Pakistani devotional form with lavish arrangements and deeply-impassioned chants, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, National Youth Chamber Choir and London Voices, alongside appearances from some the UK’s finest Indian classical dancers, including Aakash Odedra and Vidya Patel.
Regarding the Royal Albert Hall show, Ranjan says: “Qawwali is of such significance to so many of us and has an incredible rich history in this country. The opportunity to add to that tapestry, and to present our interpretation of it at a venue as culturally fitting and as venerated as the Royal Albert Hall is nothing shorty of a dream come true.”
While Sampa adds: “As independent artists, when we started on this journey, we never imagined it would lead us here. We are so grateful of everyone that has supported us so far and brought us to this place.”
Orchestral Qawwali Project play the Royal Albert Hall on May 27. For more details and ticket information visit www.royalalberthall.com
