SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
Dolcy D’Cruz
Excitement and nervousness, happiness and lot of anticipation, these are just a few of the emotions that the trio of Omar de Loiola Pereira, singer Nadia Rebelo, and multi-instrumentalist Franz Schubert Cotta were experiencing as they waited to board their flight to Macau. They are awaiting to perform not just Portuguese songs but more importantly taking Goa through its music and songs to the Far East in Macau.
This all was possible through the thorough planning by Fundacao Oriente's delegation in Goa. They were selected from some of the finest acts in the state to represent Goa and India in Macau and Hong Kong. Their musical journey will begin with a concert, ‘Strains of Fado and Goan Rhythms’ on the occasion of the 50th anniversary for the Carnation Revolution on April 27 at Fundacao Oriente in Macau (Casa Garden) in Macau-China. The following day, they will perform at Club Lusitano, Hong Kong. The concert will have Nadia Rebelo on vocals, Omar de Loiola Pereira on guitar and vocals and Franz Schubert Cotta on Portuguese guitar, violin and vocals.
Paulo Gomes of Fundacao Oriente, Goa is accompanying the three musicians and singers as they embark on this maiden performance in Macau and Hong Kong. “This is the first time I am also travelling to Macau. I started working on this concept of bringing together the three delegations of Goa/India, Portugal and Macau since I joined as the director of Fundacao Oriente in Goa. The delegation of Fundacao Oriente was first set up in Macau in 1988, followed by Goa in 1995 and East Timor in 2002. This celebration marks the 50th anniversary of Carnation Revolution, the 500th birth anniversary of Portugal’s national poet, Luis de Camoes and 25 years of the transition of Macau from the Portuguese Republic to the People's Republic of China. This was the reason to take Goan musicians to Macau to showcase not just Fados but also the true music and culture of Goa,” says Paulo.
Once in Macau, he will be addressing a press conference there, “I am looking forward to meeting the Goan community living in Macau. I have heard that there is a large group of people there. Goa and Macau are quite different. Out of Europe, Goa is a very unique place as it was called the Rome of the East. It is very important to join the three different cultures and strengthen the ties of culture which includes Fundacao Oriente in Goa/India, Fundacao Oriente in Portugal and Fundacao Oriente in Macau. We are representing all this by giving opportunities by presenting Goan musicians. This will also be the first time that the trio will be performing in Hong Kong and this performance will open other doors for them in the future.”
The 50th anniversary of Carnation Revolution celebrations in Macau is a month long affair with various programme centred around the anniversary. Though a place smaller than Goa, Paulo calls Macau a dynamic place. “Fundacao Oriente has a beautiful premises in one of the prime locations in Macau with a Manor house, garden and art galleries. They focus on different activities which are much closer to the culture of Macau. When it comes to the anniversary celebrations, there have been different programmes like a business forum, book readings,
art exhibitions, seminars and music concerts by musicians from different countries. This will be a standalone performance by Goan musicians for the night,” explains Paulo.
Omar De Loiola Pereira has performed in Portugal, Italy, Australia and New Zealand and this will be his first performance in both Macau and Hong Kong. Omar began playing the guitar as a young child of 7 years and soon took to playing commercially by 11 years. Since 1991 he was also a member of the Goan cultural group Gavana. At the age of 16, he founded a youth choir, Juventus and later performed with a duo for a 13 year stint the circuit of Portuguese clubs in Australia. On his return to Goa, he formed InVox (a vocal ensemble) and Aradhon (a choir dedicated to sacred music). He is also a part of Ekchar - an ensemble of musicians performing a varied and multilingual repertoire but with a special focus on the Fado and Mando. Ekchar comprises of Nadia Rebelo, Sonia Shirsat, Orlando de Noronha, Carlos Menezes and Selwyn Menezes.
“I have been to Macau as a tourist but this is the first time I will be performing. We will be performing for almost one and a half hour with a selection of music themed on the Revolution which the audience can relate to. This is a huge privilege for us as it is an opportunity to perform our music, Goan music to this new audience. They are not necessarily a Goan audience but given this platform, they will also experience our culture. We are excited and it is also a pressure to reflect this chance which shows that its important. The Goan selection will include traditional music like Mando, Dekhni, Dulpods, and also Portuguese Fados. The concert will be divided into three sections,” says Omar.
Franz Schubert Cotta is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist born to a Goan musical family. He performed with the Goa State (Symphony) Orchestra in the early 90s and later the Goa String Orchestra and other musical ensembles. He has been a part of the family group, ‘Cotta Family’ with which he performed in Macau in 2011 for the Lusofonia Festival.
“I am very excited to head to Macau and Hong Kong. The last time I performed in Macau was long back and it was a lesser formal stage compared to this concert. It is a huge honour to be selected from other established musicians in Goa and we will be the standalone act for the day which makes it even more special,” says Franz Schubert, who performs over 15 musical instruments.
Schubert has also co-produced five audio CD albums in Portuguese and Konkani and was awarded a scholarship in 2005 by Fundação Oriente to undertake a study in the Portuguese guitar under the guidance of the great Mestre Antonio Chainho in Portugal. He has imparted musical training in violin, guitar, mandolin, and piano/keyboards for over 20 years. He has also performed thrice at the Monte Music Festival held in Goa. “I have performed with bigger groups at Monte Music Fest but this is the first time that only three of us will be performing, though we have performed as a part of Ekchar,” says Schubert.
Nadia Rebelo has a close bond with Fundacao Oriente right from her childhood. She grew up not just participating in the singing competitions organised by the Institute but also winning all of them. This boost her confidence and she started singing the Fado professionally at 16. She released her debut Fado album ‘Fado Português’ in 2015, along with the musicianship of Franz Schubert Cotta. In 2020, she was requested by the Embassy of Portugal in India, to sing the National Anthem of Portugal to celebrate ‘Dia de Portugal’ which means the ‘Day of Portugal’. More recently, she was part of the musical trio, ‘Entre Nós’ with Omar and mandolin/violinist Selwyn Menezes. She has also performed with artistes like Zakir Hussain, Rakesh Chaurasia and Ranjit Barot.
“It feels special to perform at these two venues as this is an opportunity to represent Goa. I have known Schubert from a very young age and I have performed with both Schubert and Omar separately but this will be our first concert together. We are also a part of Ekchar so we know our strengths,” says Nadia, who has performed many concerts at the Monte Music Festival.
