Daily Times

Lahore: Shaan-e-Pakistan led by the visionary Huma Nassr along with Zee Foundation President Irfaan Pardesi hosted a Music Summit as part of Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Achievements (SEPMA) on Thursday at Shahi Qila.

For 2019, Shaan-e-Pakistan introduced SEPMA Music Summit recognising the music industry of Pakistan. The Music Summit was an amalgamation of congregation of music lovers and musicians under one roof and was curated to celebrate a rare variety of genres – Sufi, classical folk, pop, electronic and more. The summit encouraged artists to get out of their traditional templates and to present themselves in a way the world has not heard or seen them as. Attended by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar as well as some of the biggest celebrities, designers, politicians, musicians and socialites, the night stirred the beauty and nostalgia of the stunning Shahi Qila.

The first talk for the evening titled The Future of Music in the Digital Age was moderated by Taimur Rehman with Zeeshan Chaudhry, Faisal Qureshi, Rania Durrani and Rabeel Warraich.

Other subjects addressed during the summit include ‘Sur Our Kahani – Role of Music in Performing Art’ moderated by Rafay Mehmood with Simi Raheal, Sadaf Peerzada and Sharif Awan as panellists; ‘Evolution of Music in Films’ moderated by Yousaf Salahuddin with Arshad Mahmood, Saqib Malik, Yousaf Bashir Qureshi and Hajra Yamin as panellists. The Music Summit also featured performances by Aks the Band, Haiderium and Badnaam the Band.

Addressing the need for recognition within the field of music, Huma Nassr commented, “Music has always been key to happiness, growth and cultural collaborations. Unfortunately, I see very little that is done to recognize the magnanimity of diversification and talent already present within this region. Looking at this struggle for recognition by various artists, during my travels to India, I knew I’d launch Shaan-e-Pakistan. With this platform I hoped to recognise as well as highlight the local talent involved in music, fashion and art. Music has always been a very important element even during our past editions be it via performances, collaborations and what not. Creating SEPMA was always part of the plan. Of course, there were challenges we faced along the way but slowly and gradually of course, it was something that had to be done. The purpose primarily being to encourage the various genres within the Pakistani music industry and recognising music as a whole as a tool for fuelling and further developing the subcontinent culture as well as the growth of the industry.”

Aimed at presenting a positive image of Pakistan, the platform was built with the purpose of recognising and showcasing both national and international talents while bridging communities around the world. Nassr aims towards prosperity not only for herself but mainly for her country through propagation of ideas and creations in all creative fields. Her platform, Shaan-e-Pakistan thrives in putting across the message of universality, peace and the celebration of our commonalities and differences alike.

The productions are segmented into fashion and music: SEPHUB.

SEPMA 2019 is an evolution of the previous editions endeavouring to showcase the prowess of Pakistan’s music industry. For 2019, the platform plans to enable the music community with a full day summit, Achievements Night and curated collaborations between local musicians.

The SEPMA Music Achievements jury members compromise experts across various genres from the music industry including Tina Sani, Javed Bashir, Ghulam Ali Khan, Nusrat Jamil, Yousuf Salahuddin and Hamad Ali Khan. The jury is actively involved in the final process for the nominees and the winner for the respective Achievement Category. The process is open only to members from the Jury and is monitored by the Advisory Board.

The SEPMA ‘19 Advisory Board consists of reputed industry veterans hailing and vouching the mutual decision taken by the jury for the recognitions to be given out to the musician for jury based categories.