KATHMANDU: Aiming to preserve and promote folk music and culture, a music and dance appreciation workshop was held on April 1 at the Nepal Music Centre.

The event started with Cherry Franklyn, vocal expert from England talking about eastern European folk music and folk music culture. She explained about the specialities of folk music and the importance of preserving folk music.

Prabhu Raj Dhakal, vocal teacher at Nepal Sangeet Vidhyalaya, shared his thoughts on the originality of eastern classical music elaborating on the Himalayan region as a source of eastern music and dance.

Emphasising on the cultural practice of folk music, Franklyn said, “Folk music is like a chain which passes from generation to generation. It has been preserved in records but not lived. Rather than preserving folk music in records, it should be made a part of cultural practice.”

She further said that globalisation is one of the main threats to folk culture and cultural heritage.

According to Joshan Kunwar, event manager of NMC, they are planning to do more music appreciation workshops in the near future.

On every 15th day of Nepali month, the centre holds Sastriya Sudha where renowned classical musicians of Nepal perform. He said that the centre is also celebrating International Dance Day and introducing the dance faculty at Nepal Sangeet Vidhyalaya ranging from traditional folk dance to modern dance like hip-hop to salsa.