Strings of Hope Concert Video

The GASChorus, Musician and Dancers from Xavier Sangeetanjali and Young Musicians from Delhi and Mumbai toured with the GASOrchestra for a week presenting one-hour-long concerts at Siliguri, Kurseong, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok as part of the Strings of Hope Concert Tour.

The project was a powerful union of two of our projects - Strings Concert Tour Project (started in 2011 by the then Music volunteer Virgil Vihaan Sequeira at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai) and the Hope Choral Project (started in 2023 by Belgian conductor Rozemarijn Vanwijnsberghe).

We are indebted to our organisers in each location - Fr. Edu Arockiaraj SJ and Fr. Tommy SJ at Matigara, Fr. Kevin Moktan SJ and his team at St. Alphonsus, Mr. Cassian Dukpa, Ms Dipika Adhikari and the team at Hayden Hall and Fr. Edward Baretto at Darjeeling, Br. Gilbert and our school team at Kalimpong and Mrs. Laxmi Rai Gurung and the staff at Tashi Namgyal Academy and Ms. Sharolyn Zimba at Gangtok.

The tour has had an impact beyond what we imagined - our children delivered a higher quality of musical performance with confidence, audiences everywhere were touched by the story of our founder Fr. McGuire SJ and marvelled at our school’s evolution and plans for the future.





Details of the Musical Pieces

00:00:00 When the Violin 
Reena Esmail/ ed. Vijay Gupta

00:04:06 Adiemus - Songs of Sanctuary 
Karl Jenkins/ Arr. Artem Kopylov

00:08:49 Kalimpong Soundscapes 
Various/ Arr. Prajal Pradhan, Virgil Vihaan Sequeira

00:15:56 Estonian Lullaby 
Arvo Pärt

00:18:15 Game of Thrones
Ramin Djawadi/ Arr. Larry Moore

00:20:46 Theme from Schindler’s List
John Williams/ Arr. Robert Longfield

00:24:50 Best of Queen
Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon/ Arr. Larry Moore

00:28:17 On n’y Entend (One Only Hears) - Heavens
Philippe Lamouris/ Lib. Rozemarijn Vanwijnsberghe

00:31:33 Le Cygne (The Swan) - Carnival of the Animals
Camille Saint-Saëns

00:34:58 Goodwill Song
Virgil Vihaan Sequeira/ Text. Silvia Scali

00:39:09 Eh Kancha
Amber Gurung/ Text. Pasang Bangbal/ Arr. Prajal Pradhan

00:42:56 Mountains Are Calling
Shubam Biswakarma, Virgil Vihaan Sequeira

00:49:04 Imagine
John Lennon, Yoko Ono/ Arr. Artem Kopylov

00:54:10 Ek (One): A Call for Equality
Virgil Vihaan Sequeira/ Text. Swati Modi

00:57:16 Belle Mama
Folksong from Africa


The Strings of Hope Concert Tour in 4 Hill towns of Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kurseong, Kalimpong and 1 plain town of Siliguri from May 1 to 5, 2024 was organised by Gandhi Ashram School, Kalimpong (India) in collaboration with inTouch Brussels (Belgium), funded by the Huruma Fund of King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium). The 66 performers included the Gandhi Ashram School Orchestra & Chorus, dancers and musicians from Sangeetanjali (Matigara) and young musicians from premier music institutions in India like the Neemrana Music Foundation, Delhi and the SOI Academy, Mumbai. The main focaliser of this project was Belgian conductor, Rozemarijn Vanwijnsberghe. The goal of the concert tour was to boost musical confidence in students, nurture performers, empower them with collaborative and professional experiences and fill them with hope for a future of possibilities and beauty. This is in line with the mission of Gandhi Ashram School, a unique school using music as a tool for transformation of the self and communities in rural Kalimpong. 

List of Performers

Violin Soloist: from the Neemrana Music Foundation Delhi:
ANANYA BALAJI

Cello Concertmaster from the SOI Academy Mumbai:
ANWITA BHANDARI

Dancers from Xavier Sangeetanjali Matigara
SNEHALATA XALXO
PRITI KHARKA
ALPANA MINJ
PRIYANKA ORAON

Tabla/ flautist from Xavier Sangeetanjali Matigara
ASHISH KHATIWADA

GASChorus:
EONGZONG LEPCHA
KRIPA RAI
KELVIN LEPCHA
SAI DEEP RAI
AJYCKLAIN LEPCHA
ADITYA SHARMA
ANMOL LEPCHA
PRAYASH RAI
NIKHIL THAPA
TSHERING YONGTEN TAMANG
ALAIN LEPCHA
ARMAN RAI
SAMZONG LEPCHA
JESHIKA BISWAKARMA
JUDITH RUTH LEPCHA
RACHEL LEPCHA
SONAKSHI MANGER
AIYUSH LEPCHA
PRASIT CHETTRI
ALISHA CHETTRI
FAMIT LEPCHA
HANSHIKA BHUJEL
LEVEN LEPCHA
SNEHA RAI
AMIR KAMI
SHREYA LAMA

GASOrchestra:
PRERNA RAI
DEBORAH SUBBA
ALOK WANG LAMA
TILAK RAI
PRAJJWAL THAPA
SOMCHOR LEPCHA
YAMIMA BISWAKARMA
CHODEN LHAMU LEPCHA
JANNY LEPCHA
PRAKRITI CHETTRI
DEVRAJ RAI
RITESH KHARGA
AIYUSH CHETTRI
ELWIN LEPCHA
SOHAN CHETTRI
SOJAL DARJEE
PRANAY THAPA
NITESH RAI
SIDDHANT RAI

Alumni musicians:
PRANAY DHAMALA
SRIJAN TAMANG
SOHAN SAHA
ANIKET CHETTRI
AAKASH SUNDAS

Music Facilitators:
DEVRAJ RAI
PRAJAL PRADHAN
PURAN RAI
URBANUS LEPCHA

European Volunteer musicians:
PHILIPP ENGEL
ROZEMARIJN VANWIJNSBERGHE
MARILIEZE CAERS

Coordinators
SR. VERONICA LEPCHA SJC
NORZET SITLING
VIRGIL VIHAAN SEQUEIRA

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