Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

The soaring symphony of the air warriors

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Air Warriors Symphony Orchestra, in Thiruvananthapuram as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Indian Air Force, set a rich musical feast for the city's residents on Wednesday evening.

The musical treat took off with the arrival of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, Air Marshal Y.R. Rane at the Tagore theatre. It was a flourish of trumpets — the orchestra played `emblazoned'— that greeted the Air Marshal to the evening's programme.

The first piece of the evening was Mozart's Symphony 40 specially remixed for the Air Warriors by Cpl. Suneesh Thomas. Then the `warriors' rendered `Lajjavathiye' from the film `4 The People.'

Next they lined up four Beatles songs before moving on to the noted A.R. Rahman number `Dil Hai Chotta Sa' (The Hindi version of `Chinna Chinna Aasai... '). from the movie `Roja.'

The `warriors' then shifted to a folk number `La Paloma' by Yradier. Changing course yet again, they played a fusion number, `Motherland,' originally composed by musician L. Subramaniam. Three music styles — Western, Hindustani and Carnatic — flew in formation.

The audience was particularly appreciative of the `jugalbandi' using the Shahnai, the Tabla and the Mridangam. After the jazz number, `Super Instinct,' it was time for another, Rahman creation `Roja Janeman.'

The musical journey then moved on to Ricky Martin's `Cup of Life,' the theme song for the soccer world cup 1998. This was followed by the Vengaboys song `Brazil' and two Abba songs.

The final sortie of the evening was `Vande Mataram' set to tune by the immortal Hemant Kumar and sung by Latha Mangeskhar in the film `Ananth Math.'

The Air Warriors Symphony Orchestra was formed in 2002 by selecting musicians from various Air Force bands. The Orchestra is based at the Air Force Station Jalhalli, Bangalore. It has 65 musicians who play brass, woodwind, reed, electronic and percussion instruments. Almost half the members of the band are Keralites.

According to a press note issued here, the objective of the orchestra is to interact with the public and create awareness about the Indian Air Force through music.

The Orchestra has performed in Bangkok and has participated in the International Military Band festivals held at Finland, France and at Italy.

This is the only military orchestra that has been empanelled with the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

In 2005, the IAF band became the first Asian member of the International Military Music Society headquartered at Norway.

Wing Commander A.K. Sharma is the administrator of the team, Squadron Leader P.K. Jena, the director of music and the principal conductor of the show. Flight Lieutenant A.V. Suresh is the coordinator of the team, the press note added.

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