On 17 March 2022, we played at the prestigious Houses of Parliament in London, as part of the 2022 Westminster Seminar. The Third Culture Collective trio, featuring Shri Gadhvi on tabla, Simon Purdy on violin and Kavi Pau on piano, played a set in our iconic cross-cultural style. The music on offer ranged from Bach to Bollywood, including Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s O re piya, Hum ko hamise chura lo from Mohabbatein, and instrumental arrangements of our recent releases such as Darshan Do Ghanshyam and Fauré’s Après un rêve.

Performing Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria was a real highlight. The piano part was written by JS Bach in the 18th century, the melody line (played by Simon on the violin) was added by the French composer Charles Gounod in the 19th century, and the tabla part was newly improvised by Shri!

Hosted by The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Westminster Seminar is a peer-to-peer learning programme for parliamentarians and clerks from across the Commonwealth and is now in its 70th year. It was a pleasure to meet and perform for such distinguished guests, including the Speakers of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. After a long day of rehearsing and performing, we were delighted to be invited to a formal dinner in the Members’ Dining Room!

Thank you to all involved in facilitating such a wonderful event, in particular to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Royal Commonwealth Society and The Commonwealth Resounds, where we are Ensemble-in-Association.

See below for a sneak preview of our performance, recorded live at the Houses of Parliament: