The Nepal Weekly 
March 21, 2023
The seventh edition of Echoes in the Valley was observed in Kathmandu on Friday and Saturday.
The two-day event witnessed musical performances, a confluence and other events like heritage walks, live calligraphy and film screening.
The event kicked off on Friday at Kathmandu University’s Department of Music in Tripureshwar in the morning with a confluence, an annual conference on music with musicians and practitioners.
During the event discussions carried on use of folk elements in contemporary music, research writing on folk music, and challenges in reviving folk music.
This year’s the confluence was jointly organised by EITV and Raithane Music, supported by UNESCO Office in Kathmandu.
Echoes in the Valley later move to the Daboos of Kathmandu where Nepalis and foreigners performed individually and jointly as well. The first day performances took around Teen DevalShivalaya and Laxmishwor Mahadev. A different event organised in Pachali Bhairav premises too.
The festival then moved to Ason, Santaneshwar Temple and DaguBaha on day two with events taking place in Naasa Dabu in Jana Baha, ItumBaha, Bhotahiti, Nhyakantala, Tachhen Baha, Paltan Chhen and Kamalachhi.
A music workshop was also conducted at the Department of Music in Tripureshwar on Wednesday and Thursday. The workshop will be conducted by Vilma Timonen.
Over 70 artists took part in this year’s edition. Most of them are from Kathmandu, and a few from Lamahi and Dolpo. The rest are from Chile, Finland, India, South Korea, and the United States.
In addition to live performances, the festival provided various exciting experiences, including music workshops, a music conference, heritage walks, film screenings related to music, two exhibitions and a Newa-style hookah Bajân stall; and numerous children’s activities such as book bus, storytelling sessions, Ranjana Lipi calligraphy, visits to the museum and interactive board games. The festival’s satellite events include a book launch by the renowned poet Durga Lal Shrestha and an art exhibition by Kathmandu University Department of Arts students.
The festival is supported by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office, Globus Opstart, Goethe Zentrum Kathmandu, UNESCO Office in Kathmandu, and Alliance Française in Kathmandu, in collaboration with various programming and local partners.
Echoes in the Valley was established in 2017 with the goal to bring together a vast range of folk, traditional and indigenous sounds from Nepal and around the world. Organisers say the festival is the only free international event in Nepal to celebrate folk tunes and the heritages and cultures that are tied to the ecosystem of the music.
