The Symphony Orchestra of India
'The Symphony Orchestra of India is... an ensemble remarkable for its virtuosity'
Business India
The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) is the country's first fully professional symphony orchestra. It presents a series of concerts at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai over the course of two seasons each year, in September and February.
The SOI was formed in 2006 as the result of an on-going collaboration between the NCPA and the internationally acclaimed Kazakh violinist, Marat Bisengaliev, who serves as the orchestra's Music Director. Players are recruited internationally, including Resident Conductor, Zane Dalal, plus a core of instrumentalists drawn from the West Kazakhstan Philharmonic Orchestra. Many of the principal players are also teachers, and the orchestra places great emphasis on developing musical potential within India.
The orchestra's Indian players represent the finest local musical talent, and their presence in the SOI provides a solid foundation for the future of orchestral playing in India. The orchestra has launched a number of initiatives to build on this local talent, including the introduction of the Suzuki Method of instrumental teaching into schools in Mumbai.
The SOI has worked with a raft of internationally renowned soloists, including Michael Collins, Raphael Wallfisch, Andrei Gavrilov and Malcolm Messiter. The eminent British maestro Adrian Leaper is a regular guest conductor.
In February 2008, the orchestra took part in the Indian premiere of Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly, produced by the NCPA.
Besides presenting orchestral and chamber music concerts, the SOI is available as a professional accompanying ensemble for soloists as well as for ballets, operas and musicals. It will also offer its services internationally as a resource for making recordings.
February 2010 Celebrity Concert Season Programme.
Visit the SOI website at: www.soimumbai.com.
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