KATHMANDU: On the first day of the Gharana Music Festival, Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd played a composition wherein the Australian landscape was explained in his music. It was a “beautiful experience” for participating artiste Salil Subedi as he saw the landscape in between notes’ spaces. He had quiet an experience with the performing artistes and enjoyed all the experiences that they played in their music.

Subedi was amazed to “witness the liveliness of the classical and enjoyed it thoroughly” in the festival that witnessed classical music from different traditions of the world. The festival held in Hotel Yak & Yeti kick started on October 8 and ended on October 11.

Subedi conducted a workshop on didgeridoo on October 10 followed by a concert with Rabin Lal Shrestha on tabala, Sunil Pariyar on flute and Daniel Linden on classical guitar. They performed Aakash Bhairav and Tantric, Krishna Arpan, 13th Century Western classical piece among others.

He had a “profound experience” in the festival. “I have been having conversations and interacting with other artistes who have different perspectives of looking at the same music. They are from different backgrounds and they reveal different kinds of universe. So, you are meeting them musically and theoretically.”

Opening Nepal to varied forms of rich western classical music at the Gharana Music Festival were international artistes Rupert Boyd, Brendan Evans, Paul Cesarczyk, Laura Metcalf and Ana María Rosado bringing their own unique classical music traditions. Different sounds — Spanish, Latin, Australian, eastern classical, Nepali was delivered on the stage at the fest by the participating artistes.

“It was a special thing knowing that there is little opportunity for people here to hear this music of what I have been told. So, it was special to be something of an ambassador of the art that I have dedicated to in my life,” American guitarist Brendan Evans said of his participation in the festival.

He performed Spanish guitar repertoire in the festival and also gave a guitar workshop. For him, coming here and “teaching and sharing has been a unique experience”.