Sitar
Jasdeep Singh Degun
Jasdeep Singh Degun is a virtuoso sitar player and composer.
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Cheltenham Music Festival 2026
Tuesday
7
July
2026
,
7:00 pm
Pittville Pump Room,
East Approach Drive,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,
GL52 3JE
(view map)
Jasdeep Singh Degun In Search of Redemption
Terry Riley In C
interval
Jean-Philippe Rameau Thunderstorm from Platée
Jasdeep Singh Degun Rageshri
Jean-Philippe Rameau Tristes Apprêts from Castor et Pollux
Philip Glass Echorus
Jasdeep Singh Degun Arya (Sitar Concerto): movement II
With arrangements by Harry Baker
Jasdeep Singh Degun
Sitar
Gurdain Rayatt
Tabla
Tom Fetherstonhaugh
Conductor
This event is now in the past
We're so excited to make our debut at Cheltenham Music Festival 2026.
We welcome back sitar virtuoso Jasdeep Singh Degun for an evening that blends Indian classical music with Western orchestral sounds in new and unexpected ways.
At the centre of the programme is In C by Terry Riley, a revolutionary piece that forever changed the course of music. It’s built from a simple idea: short repeating musical cells layered by musicians in real time, creating something hypnotic, unpredictable and full of life. Riley’s work was deeply influenced by Indian classical traditions and we bring it into even closer conversation with those roots here featuring sitar, tabla and our full orchestra.
The programme includes something that might have never been done before: the sitar taking the lead in Rameau’s Tristes Apprêts, a French Baroque aria of longing and delicacy, here reimagined through a different lens.
Collaborators
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Jasdeep Singh Degun
Jasdeep Singh Degun made history as the first sitar player and British-Asian musician to win the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year award in 2024. He is a boundary-breaking musician who works across a range of artistic landscapes, and is at the forefront of the Indian Classical music scene in the UK.
Tabla
Gurdain Rayatt
Gurdain Rayatt is one of the leading tabla players and teachers in UK and Europe performing with renowned Indian Classical musicians.
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Gurdain Rayatt
Gurdain Rayatt is one of the leading tabla players and teachers in UK and Europe performing with renowned Indian Classical musicians.
Conductor
Tom Fetherstonhaugh
Tom is Fantasia's Conductor & Artistic Director.
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Tom Fetherstonhaugh
Tom’s musical journey began aged four, when his grandmother introduced him to an inspiring violin teacher. At eight, he became a Westminster Abbey chorister, describing the experience as “transformative”, and later attended Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.
Alongside violin, singing and organ, Tom discovered conducting and a love of bringing musicians together. In 2016, during his final year at school, he founded Fantasia Orchestra.
Today, Tom works with major orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. Away from music, he enjoys running, jazz and cooking, a process he likens to conducting through balance, pacing and collaboration.
Venue
Pittville Pump Room
Pittville Pump Room is Cheltenham's finest Regency landmark,
Pittville Pump Room,
East Approach Drive,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,
GL52 3JE