Spirited Away

Join the Northshore Concert Band (NCB) on April 13, 2025, in welcoming special guest artist Kalyan Pathak performing the tabla for Indian American composer Reena Esmail’s new work Chamak. The NCB embarks on a revitalizing spiritual journey on April 13, 2025, at the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, IL, with its spring concert Spirited Away.

The program begins with Claude T. Smith’s Eternal Father, Strong to Save, the official hymn of the United States Navy, featuring colorful interplay and variations on the well-known tune. A musical hosanna to Dr. Eric Wilson, Director of Bands at Baylor University, Paul Dooley’s triptych Canticles showcases the composer’s rhythmic vitality, lyrical melodies, and harmonic colors in a series of playful dances and a rejuvenating prayer for winds. Joe Hisaishi’s vibrant score to Spirited Away, the tale of a girl trapped in the spirit world, is transformed into a dazzling suite for winds.

Special guest solo artist Kalyan Pathak joins the NCB on tabla for Chamak, a new work by Indian American composer Reena Esmail. This work finds inspiration in the writing of Kabir and presents three movements based on traditional Hindustani ragas — a framework for improvisation and composition in Indian classical music. What makes the song unique is that it’s the first band piece based solely on Hindustani music.

In an NCB exclusive interview, Esmail says of Chamak: "I hope this piece ignites a spark in two ways. I hope it is a reminder to follow that spark that lies within each of us. And more broadly, I hope that this piece sparks an interest in Indian classical music in the band world — these musical cultures have been separate for so many years, and I hope this piece sparks further connection between these two worlds."

The tabla is a pair of hand drums, a fundamental percussion instrument in North Indian music, consisting of a smaller, higher-pitched drum (dayan) and a larger, lower-pitched drum (bayan or duggi). They are played with the fingers and palms.

Kalyan Pathak is an expert table player and has played since childhood. He is lauded for his “fleet finger virtuosity” (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). He is among the most sought-after tabla, drum set, and multi-ethnic percussionists in the United States.

Considered by Chicago Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli as one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets, Tributosaurus says this about Kalyan Pathak: "Kalyan Pathak brings a level of virtuosity to his instruments that makes each show sing at the percussion chair, but he brings so much more than that. [T]he energy and love for the process of music making that he brings to each show that he is a part of is infectious - both to the audience and the performers on stage."

Yasuhide Ito’s stirring symphonic poem Gloriosa concludes the program, evoking the fervent prayers and suffering of early Christians in Japan with a fusion of Gregorian chant and Japanese folk music.

2024/25 marks the Band’s 69th Season, and it features a remarkable number of inaugural performances. In total, fourteen works will receive their Northshore Concert Band premiere. Works in the April 14th program that will receive their NCB first performance include Paul Dooley’s Canticles, Joe Hisaishi’s Spirited Away, and Reena Esmail’s Chamak.

The concert begins at 3:00 P.M. at Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Evanston. Spirited Away April 13, 2025 3:00 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall Northwestern University Evanston, IL

PROGRAM

Claude T. Smith Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Paul Dooley Canticles

Joe Hisaishi Spirited Away

Reena Esmail Chamak Kalyan Pathak, Tabla Soloist

Yasuhide Ito Gloriosa

TICKETS

Individual concert tickets are $25 for Adults, $20 for Seniors, and $10 for Students & Children. Tickets are available online. Visit the Northshore Concert Band website to purchase tickets through Eventbrite. northshoreband.org/april-2025. All tickets are general admission. For program and ticket information, visit northshoreband.org.

To view the Northshore Concert Band 2024/25 Season brochure, visit https://bit.ly/3X9lRHR