Indian Classical music meets Western Classical music!  Sinfonia Ancaster’s first concert of 2025 brings a vibrant blend of musical traditions, taking its inspiration from masala (Indian spice mix), as it fuses Indian Classical music and Western orchestral sounds.

Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz (My Sister’s Voice) by Reena Esmail is the centrepiece of the concert, a gorgeous work that beautifully blends the emotionally expressive vocabulary of the Indian raga tradition with the sounds of a symphony orchestra, and featuring two award-winning sopranos: the multi-faceted and ground-breaking Vidita Kanniks and Bethany Hörst, recipient of the Jacquleine Desmarais Award. Hamilton-based tabla player Sajan Prem takes a star turn in Testament, another Esmail work that weaves a tale of emotions and cultures.

The concert ends with Antonin Dvořák’s cheerful and boisterous Symphony No. 8!

• Jean Sibelius – Belshazzar’s Feast

• Reena Esmail – Testament, with Sajan Prem, tabla

• Reena Esmail – Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz (My Sister’s Voice), with Vidita Kanniks, Indian classical singer; Bethany Hörst, soprano

• Antonin Dvorak – Symphony No. 8