Indian Classical Music Circle 
Google
 
Sitar Brothers – Live in Concert

Saturday, April 27, 2024
4:00:00 PM
Venue: Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013


Admission:
ICMC Members: Free
General: $30
Student: $20
ICMC Zelle ID: 2143363459 (Tickets & Membership)

Deepsankar Bhattacharjee   Sitar
Rohan Dasgupta   Sitar
Subrata Bhattacharya   Tabla
  
  
  

"Sur-Mani" Deepsankar Bhattacharjee is the fourth generation sitarist of an enlightened musical family. He embarked on his musical journey at a tender age under the tutelage of his father, Pandit Hara Shankar Bhattacharya. He also trained under the watchful guidance of his dadaguru, Padmabhusahan Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan Saheb. He is the torch bearer of the JAFFERKHANI BAAJ, a unique style of sitar playing invented and perfected by Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan saheb. Deepsankar is an " A-GRADE " sitarist from ALL INDIA RADIO (AIR). He has performed at various places in India and abroad. His performances in New York and in various cities of Austria, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, CzechRepublic, Netherlands, France, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Sweden have been highly appreciated by the cognoscenti and the commoners alike. Deepsankar has been awarded by several Gold medals and titles from various organizations all over in the world.

Rohan Dasgupta has been nurturing the art of Sitar playing for nearly 30 years and remains a humble student of music. Felicitated by Yadubhatta award, Surmani title, Pandit Vishnu Digambar award and Gidnaar Ratna award, Rohan is a seasoned performer, composer and teacher, performed in over 16 countries across the globe including India, various European countries, Russia and South America, credited for his dynamic classical solo performances around the world and numerous international collaboration with renowned artists of various genres. Carrying forward the legacy of one of the rarest and intricate style of Sitar ‘Jafferkhani baaj’, he has presented lecture demonstrations and seminars in Santa Cecilia and Giuseppe Verdi Music conservatories in Rome and Milan respectively. He has performed in the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy and has composed for Indian classical dance drama, classical and contemporary instrumental ensembles internationally. Belonging to a rare style of Sitar playing ‘Jafferkhani Baaj’, of Indore Gharana, Rohan has learnt under the tutelage of Pandit Harashankar Bhattacharya and also from his Dadaguru Padmabhushan Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan.

Subrata Bhattacharya is one of the leading tabla players in India today. He has received his taalim under Shri Tamal Krishna Chatterjee, Shri Nripen Karmakar and Shri Tapan Kr. Banerjee before he was finally accepted as a student of tabla maestro Pt. Shankar Ghosh, all of whom honed his talent to the level of refinement now witnessed by audiences everywhere. He has since proved himself a worthy exponent of the Farukhabad Gharana. Recognition of his talent has come in the form of such awards as the Sangeet Prabhankar and the Gold Medal and the Saangeet Praveen from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahadad, and Sangeet Bhushan from the Bhatkhande College, Lucknow. Renowned artists whom he has accompanied in the past few years are Dr. L. Subramaniam, Dr.N. Rajam, Pt. Buddhaditya Mukherjee, Ud Shahid Parvez Khan, Ud Ali Ahmed Hussain, Chitraveena Ravikiran, Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pt. Samaresh Chaudhury, etc. The next milestone of his creativity and innovation is "Naad- The Everlasting Sound", a group he has formed to experiment with fusion music. It seems the next inevitable step in Subrata's career as a mingling and merging of eastern, middle eastern and western styles of music is the trend among makers and lovers of music these days. He is been a part of the Chicago based Indo -Jazz band Flat Earth Ensemble since its inception.


Vocal Duet Recital – Khayal, Tappa, Thumri & Bhajans

Saturday, May 18, 2024
4:00:00 PM
Venue: Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013


Admission:
ICMC Members: Free
General: $30
Student: $20
ICMC Zelle ID: 2143363459 (Tickets & Membership)

Sabina Mumtaz Islam   Vocals
Sanjukta Biswas   Vocals
Anirban Chakrabarty   Harmonium
Pt Gourisankar Karmakar   Tabla
  
  

Sabina Mumtaz Islam is a child prodigy born in a cultured family in Guwahati, Sabina’s remarkable musical journey was set off by her father Late Janab Nurul Islam.While obtaining bachelor’s degree in English Literature as honors from Cotton College and Diploma in Tourism & Management and Computer Science from IGNOU, she simultaneously enriched herself musically. In the year 1988, she became ‘Sangeet Visharad’ from Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapeeth. Sabina’s classical sojourn further flourished when she joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata in 1997, the hub of classical music, trained by Janab Jainul Abedin and then under Late Pandit Sunil Bose - an exponent of Agra Gharana. She later came under the tutelage of Vidushi Subhra Guha, one of the doyens of the same Gharana, acquiring the prestigious scholarship in 1999. As a scholar of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, she has undergone rigorous training from her guru in the famous guru-shishya tradition and for the last 25 years still continues to do so. She is permitted to give guidance in the absence of her Guru in the Academy. At the same time she also adheres to the astute guidelines from her Guru Padmashree Pandit Vijay Kumar Kichlu, one of the great musicologists/exponents of Agra Gharana. She has now blossomed into a full-fledged performer and performs nationally as well as across the globe. Sabina is an “A” grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan in both Khyal and light Classical (Thumri/Dadra/Kajri/Chaiti/Tappa etc.). She also delivers performances in various television channels regularly. She has played back Chaiti in the Bengali debut film Har Har Byomkesh. Sabina is an empaneled artist of ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Govt. of India in both Khyal and Light Classical Music.

Sanjukta Biswas was born in a music loving family of Nadia District West Bengal. Sensing a rare talent in his daughter, her father Shri Bharat Chandra Biswas helped and encouraged her in developing this art from an early age. Her earliest lessons in music were from Shri Amalendu Pal and Shri Kalyan Guha Thakurta. As a child prodigy she won the first prize in All Bengal Music Competition at the tender age of ten. She is a first class Graduate with Honors in Music from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. After Graduation her exceptional talent enabled her to enter the dream music world ITC Sangeet Research Academy in 1994 first as a general class student and later in 1999 as a scholarship holder under her Guruma Vidushi Subhra Guha of Agra Gharana. Having remained as a scholar at ITC Sangeet Research Academy for five years, Sanjukta at present lives with her Guruma Vidushi Subhra Guha and learns in a true Guru Shishya Parampara. In 2001 she obtained the prestigious first prize in All India Radio Competition in the category of Hindustani Classical Vocal Music. Following this she also receive the coveted ITC SRA Award of a “Promising Artist” at the Music Forum, Mumbai. In 2002 she was awarded the National Scholarship for Young Artistes by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. In 2005 Sanjukta became the recipient of the prestigious Janana Pravha Scholarship for being a promising and budding young musician of West Bengal State. In 2007 Sanjukta won the prestigious “Swar Vilas” Vadodra, All India Competition. Her gayaki provides an impeccable blend of learning with perfect ‘Raagdari’ on the one side and aesthetics with perfect tuneful voice and aakar on the other. Sanjukta also excels as a Thumri, Dadra, Kajri singer in the perfect “Poorab Ang” of Banaras.

Anirban Chakrabarty hails from a family of musicians. He started his training under his father Amal Chakrabarty. He has a postgraduate degree in music with first class from Rabindra Bharati University. He is a good vocalist and his keen interest in playing harmonium has driven him to master the gayaki of the Kotali gharana under the tutelage of Pandit Manas Chakraborty, the doyen of Gharana. He has accompanied various artists including Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, Pt. Jayteerth Mevundi, Ashwini Bhide, Aarati Ankalikar, Pt Ganapati Bhatt, etc. Anirban also composes and arranges music in lighter forms.

Pandit Gourisankar Karmakar a leading tabla maestro of the present generation, studied tabla under the able guidance of his father, Pandit Shib Sankar Karmakar. Since 1979, he has been under the tutelage of the tabla Maestro Pandit Sankha Chatteriee. Gourisankar is an "A" grade Artist of All India Radio and Television. His talent and creativity are manifest in classical performances, experimental East-West World Music collaboration, and North- South musical interactions. He has performed with most of India's eminent artist like Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan etc. In world Music, performed with World famous Drummer Steve Smith, Grammy winner Mamadou Diabate (Kora Player), World famous Steel Pan player Liam Teague and many others. In 2008, Gourisankar established the "School of Indian Percussion & Music" in Austin, Texas. Many of his students have benefited from his teaching expertise, and perform regularly.


Vocal Recital – Khayal Sangeet

Saturday, June 15, 2024
4:00:00 PM
Venue: Kathak Rhythms Studio, 4020 Hedgcoxe Road, Suite 150, Plano, TX 75024


Admission:
ICMC Members: Free
General: $30
Student: $20
ICMC Zelle ID: 2143363459 (Tickets & Membership)

Ud Waseem Ahmed Khan   Vocals
Siddhesh Bicholkar   Harmonium
Sanjay Deshpande   Tabla
  
  
  

Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan's lineage is enviable. An exponent of the Agra gharana, Khan is a direct descendent of the stalwarts who created this stylistically unique and rich repertoire. The Agra style is heavily influenced by the dhrupad gayaki; During the 19th century, it embraced influences of the ‘khayal,’, a lighter form of Persian music and underwent some changes. This amalgamation of dhrupad and khayal coupled with distinctive vocal styles lent by Khan’s forefathers have given an uncommon set of features to the Agra gharana. Khan is the sole living direct descendent of this major style that has existed in India since the 13th century. Waseem Ahmed Khan was born in 1974 to Ustad Naseem Ahmed Khan. Naseem was the son of Basheer Khan, another exponent of the Agra gharana who has made significant contributions to this style. From the age of six, his immersive training or taalim began with his maternal grandfather, Late Ata Hussain Khan (1899-1980), who used the pen name, “Ratan Piya” and is well-known for some of the most beautiful compositions of the Agra repertoire. Thus, Waseem was blessed from both his maternal and paternal sides with one of the richest repertoires of north Indian classical music. Khan has carved a niche for himself as an exponent of the Agra gharana. His open-throated delivery of nom-tom alap is detailed. Khan is known for picking up special words or sentences in a bandish (fixed composition) and improvising in the true Agra style with bol-bant, a method of expanding lyrics based on rhythm. Apart from khayal renditions, Khan’s thumri performances have also received accolades from connoisseurs and lay audiences He is currently based in Kolkata, where he teaches his own students in the guru shishya parampara. Simultaneously, he trains students at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in the capacity of a ‘Musician Scholar’ and lends his expertise to various other scholarly projects of this institution.

Having imbibed primary lessons in music since childhood, Siddhesh Bicholkar has been privileged to receive guidance from his First Guru, Shri Sharad Mathkar in Goa and later, placed under the tutelage of Pt. Tulsidas Borkar, renowned Harmonium exponent and Guru. The difficult and lesser known art of Jaltarang was taken up by Siddhesh with inspiration from Shri Sharad Mathkar, who personally crafted his first set of Jaltarang apparatus. Siddhesh gained valuable knowlegde about Instrumental recitals and depths of Classical Music from Pt. Tulsidas Borkar, enabling Siddhesh to present Jaltarang Recitals, a very rare occurence in Indian Classical Music. He has been the recipient of many eminent music scholarships including accolades by the Govt.of India and its H.R.D. Ministry and many other awards to add to his long list of achievements. He is presently employed as a classical music teacher at Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Mumbai.

Sanjay Deshpande is a talented Tabla Player based in Pune, India. He was born in a music loving family and was introduced to the art of playing Tabla under Late Pt. Sabade at Pune Bharat Gayan Samaj. Later he took Taleem (lessons) from the renowned Tabla player Pt. Suresh Talwalkar of Delhi-Farookabad Gharana, in a Guru Shishya Parampara for 6 years. He also had the privilege of understanding the beauty of Punjab Gharana under the guidance of world renowned Tabla maestro Ustad. Alla Rakha Khan Saheb. At present he is taking guidance from Shri. Yogesh Samsi and Pt. Vivek Joshi. Sanjay is recipient of the coveted "Ahmedjaan Thirakwaa Scholarship" for Solo Performance. He has accompanied renowned artists like Smt. Vasundhara Komkali, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt. Smt. Malini Rajurkar, Pt. Jasraj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pt. Dinkar Kaikini, Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Smt. Veena Sahastrabudhe and many others. He has performed in major conferences such as Sawai Gandharwa Music Festival Pune, Paluskar Smarak Conference, Shankarlal Samaroha in New Delhi, I.T.C. Sangeet Sammelan. Dowerlane Conference, Kolkata. Sanjay has performed abroad in countries like USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Russia, Holland, Qatar, Sri Lanka, South Korea etc. He has also participated in the "World Vocal Festival" in Sweden. He is empanelled as guru at the Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pune. He has number of recordings released. His fusion album "Wind From Ayuta" with Korean musicians won the Best album award of the year - 2002 in South Korea.


Indian Classical Music Circle of D/FW
Site Sponsers
Mental Math for Homeschool - Nurtureminds.com