Past Musical Events

February 27th 2009, 6:30 pm

Vocal performance by Sanjukta Sen at the Tamarind Art Council located at 142 E 39th Street, New York, NY 10016

The concert is open to public. Prior reservation is advised.
CLICK for detail please

 

 


Past Events:May 10, 2008

May 25, 2008


SAROD concert
By
SAMARENDRA SIKDAR

accompanied on Tabla by
Devapriya “Debu” Nayak

On Sunday, May 20 th 2007, 12:00 Noon
At 82-76, 116 Street, Kew Gardens, NY 11418



Samarendranath Sikdar
, a senior disciple of the late Sarod maestro, Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra, is one of the leading exponents of the Senia-Shahjahanpur Gharana of Sarod. Samarendra first learned to play the Sarod from his uncle, the late Surendra Nath Sikdar. Later, he went on to become a disciple of Pt. Maitra, or Radhu Babu, as he was affectionately called. Samarendra also received inspiration and guidance from the late Pt. D.T Joshi, a close friend of Pt. Maitra, as well as from other senior disciples such as Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta and Shri Nemai Dhar.

Followed by a Jugalbandi with his guru Pt Maitra,for the National Program of Music in All India Radio in 1966, he performed in various prominent concerts and radio programs all around India for over past 40 years. All India Radio also featured him in its prestigious Tuesday Night Concert series.

In addition to being a full-time musician, Samarendra also served as a staff artist of All India Radio for over thirty years. He has also carried forward the Guru-Shishya tradition by being an excellent teacher of instrumental music. e taught regularly for a number of years at the Md. Ameer Khan School of Instrumental Music, established by his guru.

Debu Nayak : Initially learned tabla from his grandfather Chaudhry Kausalya Nandan, an accomplished pakhawaj and tabla player of Punjabgharana. Later Debu learned tabla from Pt. Radhakanta Nandy of BenarasGharana in Calcutta and continued his training in tabla from Pt. Samir Chatterjee and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, both from Farukhabad gharana. He has appeared with leading musicians from India and Pakistan like Pt. Jasraj and Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pt. Vinayak Torvi, Pt. Ramesh Misra, Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar, Habib Wali Mohammed, Asif Ali khan, Shahanaz Begum and many others.

For information contact :
Dr. Shakeel & Dr. Anju Modak : 718-847-3082
Sanjukta Sen & Dr. Kunal Sen : 718-899-4832


 

23rd October, 2005 at Flushing
New York at 5:00 p.m.


TICKETS CAN ALSO BE PURCHASED FROM:

Naghma House, Lex. Ave. NYC (212) 532-0770
Video Land, Jackson Heights, Queens (718) 898-2233
Sangeet, Iselin, NJ (732) 404-0708

Payment:
Please make check payable to Mantra Music Inc. and send to the following address:
Mantra Music
44-39, 64th Street
Woodside, NY 11377

email: info@mantramusic.com

Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri

Swapan Chaudhuri is a phenomenon in the arena of Indian classical music . It was his beloved parents, through their own passion for music, who initiated his formal musical training and inspired him in the field of tabla, paving the path that would eventually lead him to virtuosity.

Swapan Chaudhury started tabla learning at the age of five. He bases his style on the intensive training he received from his Guru, Pandit Santosh Krishna Biswas of Calcutta, the eminent exponent of the Lucknow Gharana. He holds a master's degree in music and has been conferred honors for his distinguished contributions in the field tabla by the government of India and different musical institutions. He also holds a degree in economics from Jadhavpur University, Calcutta.

Swapan's music is the spontaneous expression of powerful emotions and his deep knowledge of the tabla. His ingenuity has ushered in a purely new style of tabla playing. It is undoubtedly through his clarity and elegance of performance both as an accompanist and as a soloist that he has achieved such fame throughout the world as a true master of tabla.

As a soloist and accompanist Swapan has traveled throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia accompanying maestros such as Pandit Ravi Shankar , Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the late Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Dr. Balamurli Krishna, and other eminent artists. In addition, he has produced numerics recordings, including his own tabla solo and video tapes, and has appeared extensively on television and radio. Swapan's music reaches beyond the scope of classical music to include performances and recordings with musicians such as L. Shankar, John Handy, and the African drum master, Malenga. He has participated in many international music festivals such as Bath, Perth, Sydney, Tokyo, San Francisco, Kuala Lampur, Stuttgart, and Berlin. He has composed for several percussion ensembles which have received much appreciation from both western as well as Indian audience.

Swapan Chaudhuri is the director of percussion at the Ali Akbar School of Music in San Rafael, California and in Basle, Switzerland . He is also a member of the teaching staff at the California Institute of the Arts , Valencia, California.

Sanjukta Sen

Inheriting her musical talent from her father, Sanjukta began her vocal training at the age of nine. Raised in Jaipur, a city with rich heritage of dance and music, she started her public performance at the age of twelve and won several awards.

Sanjukta Sen is disciple of Padma Bhushan Smt. Girija Devi of Benaras Gharana and continuing to receive her guidance from her illustrious guru. Smt. Girija Devi is not only one of the leading vocalist in the dominant classical genre known as Khayal, but also in the lighter forms of north Indian classical music including Thumri, Dadra, Tappa, Hori, Chaiti and Kajri.

Sanjukta obtained her Bachelors and higher degrees in Hindustani classical vocal music from the University of Rajasthan and the University of Delhi, and further perused her intense musical training in Kolkata from late Jog Maya Banerjee, an able disciple of Trapada Chakraborty of Kirana Gharana.

Sanjukta has a rich voice and eloquent style of music rendering and carries with her a diverse treasure of Hindustani classical and light classical music forms. Composer, performer and teacher, Sanjukta has performed in India as well as in USA and has also appeared in several TV and radio programs in the USA. She has performed at several occasions and places such as American Museum of Natural History, World Music Concert at Hunter college, New York, American Express, Diwali Mela at the South Street Seaport, 25 th Anniversary Celebration of LaGuardia Community College accompanied by Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and Pandit Ramesh Misra, 50 th martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi and 30 th martyrdom day of Martin Luther King at United Nation, New York, 50 th Independence day celebration at Indian Consulate, World Life Conservation Society on behalf of Department of Tourism, Government of India, and Najrul Manch in Kolkatta, India. Also composed and presented music along with her students in presence of Honorable Prime Minister of India Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Honorable Home Minister of India Shri L.K.Advani and many occations in Indian cosulate, NY.

She is a dedicated music teacher and has been teaching for more than Fifteen years at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA. She also teaches at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, New York, as well as at Queens, New York. Through her lessons, she has introduced Indian Classical Music to many western musicians. Sanjukta conducted several music workshops in New York and New Jersey. She has released an album of Devotional songs.

Her powerful voice touches the heart of every listener. She is a devoted musician of high caliber. She offers quality music not only through her performance but also through teaching, composition and music production.

Pandit Ramesh Mishra

A glaring example of total dedication, depth and maturity, Pandit Ramesh Mishra is a phenomenon in the field of Indian classical Music.

Mastering over one of the most difficult unique string instruments ‘ Sarangi’, Ramesh Mishra is today acclaimed as an outstanding artist of India. Son of great sarangi maestro Pt. Ramnath Mishra, Ramesh started his initial intensive training at very tender age from his father and acquired further knowldge and training from finest musicians of Benaras Gharana Pandit Hanuman Prasad Mishra and late Pandit Gopal Mishra. Presently Ramesh is under the tutelage of the legendary maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Ramesh’s high aesthetic sense, and artistic sensibilities along with his inner soft nature gave recognition both in home and aboard as an eminent soloist as well as an adept accompanist. His perfect restrained tuneful music enthralled the global audience. Besides a recipient of India’s most prestigious Sangeet Natak Award, Pt. Ramesh Mishra has also been honored with Geetanjali, Uttam, Dishari Awards from different musical organizations.

In 1959 Ramesh was sent as a cultural delegate to Pakistan by late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. Both as soloist and accompanist, Pandit Ramesh Mishra traveled all over the world accompanying internationally reputed artists.

In addition he has produced numerous recordings including his own solo records and earned a niche in the hearts of millions of music lovers.

Pandit Ramesh Mishra is among very few high ranking and gifted artists of India whose music takes the audience to a divine world, a world of pure music.


Direction to the Auditorium

By Automobile

From Manhattan : Take Midtown Tunnel to Long Island Expressway. Exit at Kissena Blvd. (Exit No. 24), and turn left onto Kissena Blvd. travel approximately 1 mile, then turn right onto Holly Ave. Travel three blocks and cross Bowne St. You will see the auditorium on your left.

From Long Island : Take Long Island Expressway (I-495 WEST) and exit at Kissena Blvd. (EXIT No. 24). At second traffic light turn right on Kissena Blvd. Once on Kissena Blvd. travel approximately 1 mile, then turn right onto Holly Ave. Proceed three blocks and cross Bowne St. You will see the auditorium on your left.

If you are coming from areas other than Manhattan or Long Island, take any one of the highways most convenient to you - The Belt Parkway, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or Grand Central Parkway - and then get on Long Island Expressway. From there, follow directions given above.

By Public Transportation:

Take IRT Flushing Line (No.7) train from Times Square. Get of at last stop - Main Street, Flushing. Take Q27 bus from Main Street, which goes up Kissena Blvd., and turns left onto Holly Ave. Get off at the stop just before Bowne Street and you will see the auditorium on your left. The bus ride is only five to ten minutes at the most.

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Girija Devi is the finest of the few surviving performers in the 'Purab ang gayaki' nurtured by the Benaras Gharana. Her brilliant renderings of light classical music have tugged at the heartstrings of audiences worldwide. In her huge repertoire of khayal, thumri, gul, naksh, prabandha, dadra, tappa, kajri, chaiti and bhajans and many others, she emphasizes the beauty of the lyrics.


Girija Devi

Born in Benares in 1929, Girija Devi started music lessons at the age of five from well-known singer and sarangi player, Pandit Sarju Prasad Misra. After he passed away, she continued her training with Pandit Chandra Misra. She made her debut before concert audiences in 1949, when she broadcast a recital from the All India Radio (AIR) Station in Allahabad.

As a performing artiste of the Benaras and Senya Gharana, Girija Devi is the finest of the few surviving performers in the 'Purab ang gayaki' nurtured by the Benaras Gharana. Her brilliant renderings of light classical music have tugged at the heartstrings of audiences worldwide. In her huge repertoire of khayal, thumri, gul, naksh, prabandha, dadra, tappa, kajri, chaiti and bhajans and many others, she emphasizes the beauty of the lyrics.

When in full flow, her voice, with its resonance and timbre, sonorously recaptures the rich melodiousness of a shehnai. Her scintillating performances reveal her sensitivity, erudition and versatility as a vocalist. Endowed with a divine magic in the depths of her voice, every recital of hers blesses her listeners with a sense of profound fulfillment.

Her style of singing constantly reminds you of her innovative genius. The brilliance of her taans, in sharp contrast with the persistent wail of the prolonged notes of the upper octave, is the dominant feature of her renditions. In a single glide, she traverses a multiplicity of notes - yet it appears as a single note. She is like a master craftsman at work, executing imaginative embellishments with an exquisite artistry, which is the hallmark of her mainstream gayaki.

Girija Devi has a rich treasury of bandishes that she has composed herself. This reaches beyond her recitals and her concerts because it flows far beyond the different facets of her vocalism, specially inherent in her dhrupads and khayals, characterised as they are by a striking note of tenderness and human love.

Over the years, there is hardly a musical honour that Girija Devi has not received Girija Devi has collected a string of titles and awards -- a Doctorate, the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan, the Sangeet Natak Academy Sangeet Natak Academy Awards of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, and others. She has a large number of recordings and regularly broadcasts on television and radio. She also served as a member of several important musical committees including the Central Audition Board Committee of All India Radio (AIR) and the Sangeet Natak Academy.

Her musical performances around the world, across USA, Europe, the then USSR and many other countries, her renditions within the country, her exquisitely aesthetic recitals on national radio and television programmes, and her live concerts, have truly made her a legend in her lifetime.

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