The ensemble of six musicians – Arun Manandhar on tungna and arbajo, Kiran Nepali on sarangi, Pavit Maharjan and Raju Maharjan on percussion, Rubin Kumar Shrestha on flute, and Siddhartha Maharjan on effects – will be leaving the country on September 12.[break]
Kutumba will be touring with the theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” a Sanskrit adage which means “Whole World: One Family.”
They will perform in various cities in the Midwest and East Coasts, such as Madison, WI; Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Boston, MA; Baltimore, MD; and Washington, DC.
Kutumba has already played in India, Bangladesh, and France. This is their fourth international tour.
Speaking about their first US trip, percussionist of the band, Pavit Maharjan, said, “It’s a big opportunity for our band as an American organization has invited us for the tour, and we get to take our music to a whole new demography.”
The fund collected from the tour will go for the construction of a model green school in Nepal. Shedding further light, Pavit added, “The main objective of this concert is to raise funds for Sarvodaya’s school building and education projects in Nepal.”
Blending diverse forms of instruments and a wide range of ethnic music styles, Kutumba’s music can be described as intense, original.
The band revealed that they will mostly be playing at colleges and universities.
“Promoting Nepal and its culture through our music among college students in the US is one of the objectives of our concert,” said Pavit.
They will be entertaining crowds with some of their original compositions.
As the crowd in their concerts will be mostly foreign nationals, the band will give extra emphasis on Nepali folk tunes.
“We’ll have very different crowds, so it’ll take time for them to understand our music,” said Pavit again, adding, “We’ll take this opportunity to introduce Nepali folk instruments and music during the concerts.”
Kutumba will also be conducting workshops to introduce their music.
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