A Hundred Strings in Bournemouth: Ragas by the Sea

About

On Saturday 21 November we bring Indian classical music to Bournemouth for the first time, at the Palace Court Theatre on Hinton Road. The theatre opened in 1931 as the town's playhouse, and Arts University Bournemouth is now bringing it back to the stage. Three musicians, and two ways of playing a raga on strings.

Adnan Khan, a Grammy-nominated sitarist from Delhi, plays in the gayaki ang, which models sitar playing on the singing voice. His grandfather, the late Ustad Zafar Ahmed Khan, gave him his first lessons, and he trains with his father, the sitar player Ustad Saeed Khan.

Vinay Desai plays the santoor, the hundred-stringed instrument of Kashmir, as a direct disciple of Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. The sitar is plucked and slides between notes. The santoor is struck and cannot slide, so it moves in runs.

Ustad Akram Khan plays tabla with both. The seventh generation of his family in the Ajrada gharana, he learned from his great-grandfather Ustad Mohammad Shafi Khan, then from Ustad Niazu Khan, and keeps more than fifteen of the gharana's kaydas in his teaching.

A Hundred Strings also plays Oxford on 18 November, Manchester on 20 November and St Saviour's, Pimlico, the next evening, Sunday 22 November.

Seating is unallocated. The entrance has three steps with a ramp, and there is level access from the foyer to the auditorium. For access needs, contact us at https://kalasudha.com/contact before the day so we can plan with the venue.

Doors open at 6:15 PM. Music starts at 6:30 PM (GMT).

Saturday 21 November 2026, 6:30–9:00 PM GMT. Doors 6:15 PM. Early bird £20 until 6 November, then £25. Students £15 with valid student ID. Book through KalaSudha at https://kalasudha.com/event/a-hundred-strings-in-bournemouth-ragas-by-the-sea