News & Highlights

ABRSM · Kuala Lumpur · 2026

Composer Mentoring Programme, Malaysia

Shariful was selected for the ABRSM Composer Mentoring Programme 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, and attended the ABRSM Piano Competition Southeast Asia 2026. Over an intensive week of workshops with composers, educators and performers from across Southeast Asia, his composition Mystic Craftsman was performed and discussed by the mentors — conversations that are already shaping his next works as a composer and educator.

Published writing · 28 May 2026

“Orchestral Listening and Collective Well-being”

How can an orchestral rehearsal become a model for community resilience? Shariful’s essay, published as a Features article by ASEF culture360, draws on a decade of building orchestras in Bangladesh to argue that the discipline of listening together is a social skill as much as a musical one.

Dhaka Symphony Orchestra · Coke Studio Bangla

Strings for “Baaji”

The Dhaka Symphony Orchestra formed the string section for Baaji, Emon Chowdhury and Hashim Mahmud’s song for Coke Studio Bangla Season 3 — a celebration of Bengal’s hills, soil and linguistic diversity. For an orchestral scene still finding its footing in Bangladesh, it was a proud moment to bring live strings to one of the country’s most-watched music platforms.

Press · The Wire

Featured in The Wire’s “Global Ear: Dhaka”

The Wire magazine’s long-running Global Ear column turned to Dhaka, mapping a restless, fiercely creative underground — from distorted electronics to folk-infused textures. Shariful’s field-recording–based work was featured alongside artists including Shoummo Saha, Deepsteel and Debopom Ghosh Must Be Killed.

Professional development

Rehearsing Music Ensembles — UNC Chapel Hill

Shariful completed Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, deepening his work in conducting, rehearsal technique, score preparation and ensemble leadership — skills he brings directly to the Dhaka Symphony Orchestra and his military orchestra training.

New release · O Bhai Dorodi

Two blind singers, one melody

One evening, as darkness fell and Dhaka grew loud and chaotic, a melody cut through the noise. Shariful followed it and found two blind street musicians singing Dorodi — “The Compassionate One.” As they sang, the crowd around them fell completely silent.

He memorised the phrases and carried that stillness home, translating it into an instrumental piece of warm acoustic tones, ambient layers and a flute counter-melody — a tribute to the street storytellers of Dhaka. Grab your headphones.

Orchestral work · Lalon Fakir

The Sound of Identity — Jaat Galo

An orchestral tribute to Lalon Fakir’s Jaat Galo. “My aim was to translate Lalon’s timeless message into a modern orchestral language: we are more than the identities imposed on us. We are sound, breath, rhythm, and a shared humanity.”