PRESS RELEASE: SISU SCHOOL CONCERT TOUR 2010
SISU, a Norwegian percussion ensemble, are back in Nepal following a successful series of concerts and workshops during their first visit in 2008. The group is comprised of Tomas Nilsson, Bjørn Skansen and Marius Søbye. SISU’s repertoire consists largely of contemporary classical music, though they also performed pieces that allude to popular culture; with their flexible spirit, the group challenges conventional understandings of genre and style. In performance, their goal is to engage and move audiences, and they often use visual aids to achieve this end. Their Nepal tour consists of the following dates:
Wednesday, 17th February: NSV Hall, Kathmandu, 16:00
Friday, 19th February: Bhadrakali School, Pokhara, 10:00
Sunday, 21st February: Deep Jyoti Vidhya Mandir, Sanischare (Jhapa), 10:00
Monday, 22nd February: Gurukul, Biratnagar, 10:00
Thursday, 25th February: Mahendra School, Kavrepalanchowk, 12:00
Tomas Nilsson is SISU’s artistic director, and has been involved with the group since its inception beginning in 1993. Nilsson is actively involved with other ensembles, such as Oslo Sinfonietta and Opera Omnia, and has freelanced in several symphonic orchestras in Norway and Sweden. Tomas Nilsson is studied at Østlandets Musikkonservatorium in Norway.
Bjørn Skansen has been playing with SISU since 1999. He studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and The Norwegian Academy of Music. Currently, he is as a freelance musician in multiple orchestras, including Det norske blåseensemble, The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Sinfonietta, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
Marius Søbye studied music at the Norwegian Academy of Music from 1994 to 1998, and became a member of SISU in 1997. Søbye also freelances for several orchestras and ensembles, performing contemporary music, rock and electronica.
These concerts are being put on in partnership with Jojiju Music Center (local co-ordinators, Pokhara), Bhadrakali H.S. School (Pokhara), Deep Jyoti idhya Mandir (Sanischare), Gurukul (Biratnagar), Aarohan (Biratnagar), and Mahendra Ma. Vi. (Kavrepalanchowk), and with the support of Rikskonsertene (The Norwegian Concert Institute), the Royal Norwegian Embassy, and Himal Power Limited.
The impetus for these five school concerts, organized as part NMC’s International Exchange Program, is Nepal Music Center’s belief that every child has a right to listen to a wide range of music. To ensure accessibility, no entrance fee is being charged for students, and a combination of private and government schools has been selected as venues. In order to address gender imbalance, NMC asked the Mahendra school in Kavrepalanchowk, whose student body is roughly eighty percent female, to host a concert. NMC is also working towards the decentralization of the music scene in Nepal, and has thus opted to put on shows in schools in four cities besides Kathmandu.