Unique East-meets-West Music & Performance Art Piece for Charity Fundraiser

Vikas Kohli of FatLabs to play live with Indian Classical violinist Subhadra Vijayakumar to raise funds for the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel Gala

A very unique collaboration will take place between music and visual arts this Sunday. Composer and music producer Vikas Kohli of FatLabs will team up with Subhadra Vijaykumar for an improvisational concert that will serve as the musical inspiration to visual artists Kumkum Ramchandani, Marlene Leighton and Abhinav Misra as they create a painting in front of a live audience. The painting will then be auctioned off the same night at the 2nd annual Gala fundraiser of the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel.

"It’s profound when you hear the statistics on sexual assault. As artists, we want to connect with the community in order to help the people that have survived these assaults and hopefully raise enough awareness and funds to make a concrete difference," said Kohli.

Known for scoring both Bollywood films as well as North American films, Kohli will be playing the guitar with renowned classical South Indian violinist Subhadra Vijay Kumar, Founder of the Radha Academy of Carnatic Violin, for an avant-guarde East-meets-West fusion performance. This union of music with visual arts is centred around the foundation of Indian classical music known as the "raga", which is the Sanskrit word for "colour". The musical performance will evolve through various ragas and western musical motifs in order to represent the "And Still We Rise" theme of the gala, which showcases the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. The performance piece will be kicked off by five brush strokes from five eminent community leaders: Barbara Hall (Commissioner, Ontario Human Rights Commission), renowned educator Rubena Willis, Shelly White (CEO, United Way of Peel), Avvy Go (Director, Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic), and Sally Gaikezheyongai (Health Administrative Assistant, Chiefs of Ontario).

The Gala starts at 5:30pm this Sunday, December 5th, 2010 at the Novotel Hotel, Mississauga. Tickets are $100 and include dinner and entertainment.