German music collective JISR to perform in Dhaka today

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh in association with the German Embassy in Dhaka and the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) is organising a special concert titled ‘JISR // Brücke: From The Isar To The Ganges’ today evening at BSA’s National Theatre Hall in the capital.

The concert, featuring the German music collective JISR from Munich led by the charismatic linguist, singer, percussionist and Gembri player Dr Mohcine Ramdan, is being organised to celebrate the Mujib Borsho alongside the 60 Years Celebration programme of Goethe-Institut in Bangladesh and 50 Years of the diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Germany, according to the Goethe-Institute Bangladesh.

The concert is a part of the project “The Sound of Faraway Lands,” and the tour in South Asia is in many ways, about the exchange of musical cultures, according to the organisers.

The project is described as a snapshot of a musical culture that breaks the boundaries between different musical genres and fills the imagination, unconventionally instrumented and with a great longing for new and unexplored realms of sound.

JISR collective features an ensemble group of talented musicians, and the line-up features Marja Burchard (Keys, Trombone), Roman Bunka (Oud, Guitar), Mohcine Ramdan (Percussion, Gembri, Vocals), Severin Rauch (Drums), Niko Schabel (Alto Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet), Gergely Lukacs (Trumpet) and Marwan Fakir (Violin).

In this concert, a group of Bangladeshi guest musicians will also perform a number of songs together with the JISR and the musicians are Labik Kamal Gaurob (Vocal, Dotara, Khomok), Nazrul Islam (Dhol), Jalal Ahmed (Flute) and Baby Dewan (Vocals, Mondira).

Entry to the concert is free of charge, however, due to the pandemic situation the seating is limited, and the concert-goers are advised to email at Program3-dhaka@goethe.de for the pass.