Goethe-Institut Bangladesh is organizing a special concert titled "JISR Brücke: From The Isar To The Ganges," in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dhaka and the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Tuesday, March 22 at BSA's National Theatre Hall in the capital.

The concert, featuring the German music collective JISR from Munich led by the charismatic linguist, singer, percussionist and Gembri player Dr Mohcine Ramdan, is being organized to celebrate the Mujib Borsho alongside the 60 Years Celebration programme of Goethe-Institut in Bangladesh and 50 Years of the Diplomatic Relationship between Bangladesh and Germany, according to the Goethe-Institute Bangladesh.

"The Munich ensemble JISR has been invited by the Goethe-Institut to tour in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. This concert is especially significant, as it is set to be the first tour by a German music collective in Bangladesh since the pandemic started," the institute said via a press release on Wednesday.

The concert is a part of the project "The Sound of Faraway Lands," and the tour in South Asia is in many ways, about the exchange of musical cultures, according to the organizers.

Mohcine Ramdan's music project is a melting pot of diverse musical styles and traditions. The repertoire of musical influences is considerable: from Arabic classical music and poetry to African Gnawa grooves and German Krautrock, Balkan, Jazz, Tango and Andalusian Flamenco.

The project is described as a snapshot of a musical culture that breaks the boundaries between different musical genres and fills the imagination, unconventionally instrumented and with a great longing for new and unexplored realms of sound.

JISR collective features an ensemble group of talented musicians, and the line-up features Marja Burchard (Keys, Trombone), Roman Bunka (Oud, Guitar), Mohcine Ramdan (Percussion, Gembri, Vocals), Severin Rauch (Drums), Niko Schabel (Alto Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet), Gergely Lukacs (Trumpet) and Marwan Fakir (Violin).

In this concert, a group of Bangladeshi guest musicians will also perform a number of songs together with the JISR and the musicians are Labik Kamal Gaurob (Vocal, Dotara, Khomok), Nazrul Islam (Dhol), Jalal Ahmed (Flute) and Baby Dewan (Vocals, Mondira).

Besides the concert, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh will be organizing a multi-disciplinary arts exhibition highlighting cultural projects from across the country with the signature name Goethe Pop Up starting from March 21-23, every day from 3 pm to 8 pm at the Studio space premise, level 8, DrikPath Bhobon, 16 Sukrabad, Panthapath in the capital.

Entry to the concert is free of charge, however, due to the pandemic situation the seating is limited, and the concert-goers are advised to email at Program3-dhaka@goethe.de for the pass.