Media Release
Mangaluru, Aug 29: Mangaluru witnessed a landmark evening in its cultural calendar on August 22 as more than 200 artistes of Mangalurean heritage came together at the Father Muller Convention Centre for Symphony of Hope, a charity concert that brought Western classical music, Indian musical traditions and multiple performing arts together on one stage.
For a city better known for its intimate cultural performances than productions on this scale, the evening was an ambitious undertaking. Musicians and artistes travelled from across India and overseas to be part of a production conceived around two ideas: celebrating Mangaluru’s artistic talent and raising support for children battling cancer.
The response from the city was immediate. Tickets were sold out a week before the event, and approximately 1,600 people filled the venue on the night. The audience reflected the breadth of the occasion, with children, young adults, families and senior citizens coming together for an evening that promised both spectacle and purpose.
And the spectacle was certainly delivered.
A symphony orchestra shared the stage with a polyphonic choir, solo vocalists, opera, ballet, Bharatnatyam, theatre and percussion. The production brought together 53 choir members, 29 soloists, 33 junior vocalists, 31 musicians, 14 drummers, 12 comperes and 55 dancers, supported by an organising team of around 100 people.
For many of the musicians, the performance represented six months of preparation and rehearsal. The scale of the undertaking was evident in the precision with which the different artistic disciplines were woven into a single production rather than presented as separate performances.
The repertoire moved comfortably between Western popular culture, contemporary music and Indian influences. Songs associated with Hollywood, Broadway and Disney featured prominently, from Adele’s Skyfall to music from The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, Colors of the Wind and A Whole New World, while Yanni’s Aria, Storm, Nostalgia and Carol’s Theme brought an instrumental dimension to the evening.
Indian music found its place alongside these international selections, with Arijit Singh’s Sukoon and Tamil numbers including Vazhithunaiye and Kangal Irandal. The programme also featured Hypernova, alongside the evening’s other contemporary selections. The concert ultimately built towards its closing number, Michael Jackson’s Heal the World.
If the music provided the emotional core, the production design delivered the visual impact.
The lighting and technical production were conceived as part of the storytelling itself, shifting with the mood and character of each performance. The scale of the setup marked a significant step up for live productions in Mangaluru, with Creative Technical Director Klinton Mascarenhas leading the technical and visual execution. The programme was directed by Ramona Mathias, with choreography by Mangaluru’s Golden Girl, Remona Pereira. Together, their creative vision, meticulous planning and seamless collaboration brought elegance, energy and cohesion to every performance on stage.
Among the evening’s featured performers was Vivienne Pocha, whose appearance added an international dimension to an event built around Mangalurean talent. Her performance drew some of the strongest audience reactions of the evening.
But beneath all of this, one truth anchored Symphony of Hope: this was a concert conceived for children who were fighting the toughest battle of their young lives — paediatric cancer.
The event was presented as a charity initiative, with the organisers seeking to turn an evening of music into tangible support for children and families facing the financial and emotional burden of cancer treatment. The organisers had earlier described the concert as a movement of compassion, with artistes coming together for a common cause.
The idea of bringing together Mangaluru’s artistic community was central to the project.
“Symphony of Hope was born from a vision to celebrate the extraordinary wealth of talent that Mangaluru holds, and to bring it together on a single stage in a celebration of artistry, passion and purpose,” said event director Munita Veigas Rao.
She described the concert as ‘only the beginning of a new tradition of symphonies in Mangaluru’.
Music director Lionel D’Mello similarly described symphonic music as ‘one of the finest and most powerful forms of music to experience’.
The production was made possible by the extensive work of the organising committee, whose members spent months coordinating musicians, dancers, singers, technical teams and rehearsals.
The organisers also acknowledged the support of sponsors and partners whose backing helped make this massive production possible, including title sponsors Land Trades Builders & Developers and Globelink West Star Shipping, along with platinum sponsors Michael D’Souza and Family, Mangaluru/Dubai; Ronald and Dorothy Pinto – Hyssna International, UAE; and Social Welfare Centre Johan Maasbach World Mission, to name a few.
The evening culminated with artistes from across the programme returning to the stage for Heal the World. With the orchestra, choir, dancers and performers united for the finale, the message of the evening became unmistakable: music could be more than entertainment; it could be a vehicle for bringing a community together around a cause.
For Mangaluru, Symphony of Hope was therefore more than a large-scale concert. It demonstrated the breadth of artistic talent connected to the city and showed what can happen when musicians, singers, dancers, actors, organisers and technical teams work towards a common vision.
Whether it becomes the beginning of the annual tradition its organisers envision remains to be seen. But its first edition has already established something significant: Mangaluru has the talent, the audience and the appetite for productions that bring together the city’s artistic community on a much larger stage.
And on August 22, that stage was filled not merely with music, but with a message of hope.