Grammy-winner Sandeep Das in solo spotlight with MSO
East meets West as table master puts rhythms of India front and center
Jackson, Mississippi — Internationally acclaimed tabla master Sandeep Das takes the percussive language of India’s traditional drum set to thrilling new heights in Mississippi Symphony Orchestra’s “Vibrant Colors” concert Saturday, March 8. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. in the beautiful Performing Arts Center at Jackson Academy on Ridgewood Road.
The allure of distant lands echoes throughout the three-movement Concerto for Tabla and Orchestra by contemporary Sri Lankan-born Canadian composer Dinuk Wijeratne, at the heart of this concert. French composer Erik Satie’s spare, expressive Gymnopedie No. 1 and Gymnopedie No. 3, orchestrated by Claude Debussy, open the program and Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s hopeful and triumphant Symphony No. 5 is the finale, enhancing the evening’s global appeal.
A native of India, Das began learning tabla as early as age 6, when school complaints of his incessant desk-tapping propelled his father to start him on lessons for these paired, small hand drums instrumental in Indian classical music. A disciple of the legendary Kishan Maharaj, Das is a Silkroad Ensemble member and Grammy-winner, a Guggenheim Fellow and a leading tabla virtuoso with a decades-long career, collaborations with fellow top musicians and iconic orchestra appearances. Das revels in the journey of Wijeratne’s pioneering work, written with him in mind, that showcases the tabla’s deep roots and versatile reach.
“It should be a really rich evening,” MSO Maestro Crafton Beck said. The cross-cultural concerto weaves North Indian classical tabla into a Western context, just as Middle Eastern and Asian influences fueled turn-of-the-century Parisian artists such as Satie and Debussy. “Likewise, it’s just a step away from India, north to Russia. Those cultures, as part of the Silk Road — that was the center of the world at one point,” Beck said. “His piece should resonate with the music that flanks it.”
The concert also heralds the following week’s arrival of Holi, the Hindu celebration known as the Festival of Colors that marks the start of spring, on March 14.
MSO’s Bravo Series is presented by the Selby & Richard McRae Foundation, and guest artist Sandeep Das’ appearance is generously sponsored by Massage Envy and by Kris and Mona Graham. MSO is also supported in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Season ticket holders with Conductor, Connoisseur, and Loge reservations will enjoy reserved seating at the venue in Jackson. Please see the box office or an usher for assistance upon arrival. All other seats are general admission and are first-come, first-seated.
Individual tickets for the “Vibrant Colors” concert are $43 for adults and $5 for students, kindergarten through college (with valid student ID). For tickets or more information visit msorchestra.com, email patronservices@msorchestra.com, or call 601-414-6005. The onsite box office will open at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert.
Who: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
What: “Vibrant Colors,” MSO Bravo Series concert
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 8, 2025
Where: Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center, 4908 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS
Website: msorchestra.com