Fall Fest 2019 12/07/19

Fall Fest 2019 ICMC presents Fall Fest 2019 featuring a medley of several short vocal and instrumental performances, by ICMC member musicians. This event is FREE to general public. The primary reasons for this concert are to bring awareness about Indian classical music in the community and also to stage upcoming talent. Since its inception in 1983, ICMC has built the most comprehensive concert series and is regarded as the premier producer of Indian classical music and dance in Dallas/Fort Worth and the surrounding area, by consistently presenting more than seven culturally diverse concerts a year for the sole benefit of its members and the general public. ICMC’s mission is to entertain, to interest, to educate, to train and to provide spiritual nourishment to its members and the general public, and to significantly contribute to the multiethnic heritage and the cultural vitality of the city, through its concerts. ICMC members – who are interested in performing at this event should send email to president@icmcdfw.org. Participants must have active ICMC memberships through June 20, 2020. Saturday, December 07, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013

Hindustani Sitar Recital – Meditative Strings An empaneled artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Anjan Saha has learnt sitar under the yet caring apprenticeship of Pt Debiprosad Chatterjee since his childhood. He is a graded artist of Prasar Bharati. Anjan has been awarded with the National Scholarship from Dept of Culture, Government of India in the year 1992. He has achieved the rare feat of obtaining National Scholarship for the second time from Department of Culture, Government of India in 1998. Anjan has been performing extensively in India and abroad since 1998. He has given a number of performances in different cities in Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Belgium, Montenegro, Kuwait, Qatar, East Asia and United States of America. Besides his performances Anjan’s Music compositions in different genre has got a great applause from the audience. Anjan has been teaching in Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata since 2004. Saturday, November 02, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Pt. Arup Chattopadhyay is recognized as one of the most outstanding and sought after Tabla artists of this generation. He has established himself as a top-notch accompanist as well as a formidable soloist. Arup’s performances are admired for their exceptional tonal quality, clarity and deep compositional repertoire, all presented with an innate sense of rhythm and melody. Arup began learning Tabla at age six from his father, the eminent Tabla player, Pt. Pankaj Chattopadhyay. He then came under the tutelage of the world-renowned Tabla maestro Pt. Shankar Ghosh and is one of his premier disciples. He was awarded Top-Grade by All India Radio and Television. Arup has accompanied many of the leading musicians of India such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Rais Khan, Ustad Aashish Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pt. Nayan Ghosh, Pt. Ajay Chakarbarti, Lakhsmi Shankar, Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Ustad Rashid Khan, the late V.G. Jog, Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Pt. Kushal Das, among others. Since 1998, Arup has been honored to accompany the legend Bharat Ratna Pt. Ravi Shankar in tours throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and India, Including performances in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, in US, and Barbican hall in London. Arup is also a highly sought after teacher and since 1999 has been a visiting lecturer with University of California, San Diego; and previously a professor of Tabla at Baratiya Vidya Bhavan in London (Institute of Indian Culture).

Hindustani Vocal Recital – Khayal, Thumris & Bhajans Sandip Bhattacharjee is one of the few prodigies to have lived up to his initial promise. Born in a family with a deep rooted musical background, Sandip was initiated into music by his mother Smt. Krishna Bhattacharjee at the age of four and he continued his talim under Smt. Amita Dasgupta later. When in his teens, Sandip became a residential scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the able Guidance of Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan & Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, sons and disciples of the legendary Sarangi Maestro late Padmashree Ustad Shakoor Khan. It was essentially here that Sandip was nurtured in the true guru shishya parampara system of training of the Kirana Gharana. Along with his music, Sandip also holds a First class degree in Graduation from Rabindra Bharati University (Kolkata), in classical music. Other than pure classical music he is competent in singing semi classical forms like Bhajans, ghazals and Nazrulgeeti as well. He performs across India and abroad (United States, Europe and Bangladesh). A recipient of the Title “Surmani” from Sur Singar Sansad Mumbai, Sandip also broadcasts regularly over the All India Radio as an ” A ” Grade artist. Apart from being an able performer Sandip is also a teacher of music. He travels regularly to Guwahati and Digboi (Assam) where he has a substantial following of students in Indian classical music. Sandip has been a faculty at AAICM in New York since 2013. Saturday, October 05, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Ramchandra Joshi is an accomplished vocalist as well as an established harmonium player. Inducted to the world of music at the tender age of 8 years by his mother Smt. Anjani Tilak from Mumbai, later he got trained with Smt. Tulika Ghosh who is disciple of legendary late Pt. Gyanprakash Ghosh from Kolkata, and Smt. Sraboni Mukherjee in classical vocal, light classical music (thumri, ghazal) respectively at Sangeet Mahabharati Music academy Mumbai founded by late Pt Nikhil Ghosh. He received guidance in Indian Classical Vocal from renowned vocalist Dr. Veena Sahasrabuddhe from Pune. He has toured extensively in India, USA, UK and Switzerland. As Harmonium accompanist Ramchandra has accompanied vocalists at numerous concerts. 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.

India Dance Festival Meet me on the Meadow – A Kathak Musical ICMC’s India Dance Festival will host the US premiere of “Meet Me on the Meadow” on Saturday August 24, 2019. The 90-Minute Kathak-based musical was launched in India in 2017 and has had multiple performances since, all winning media and audience acclaim. Kathak (Story-Telling) – the dance style from North India has the charm and subtlety associated with miniature paintings. Nurtured in the holy precincts of the Hindu temples, Kathak was further enhanced under the Persian influence during the Moghul reign in India, attaining supreme refinement as a Classical dance form and establishing a discipline through various gharana’s and styles thereof. Meet Me on the Meadow the musical portrays an epic love tale through music and dance, in another timeless context. The musical is written, directed and produced by Anita Kulkarni, Founder-President-Artistic Director at Renu – The Foundation for Art, a NJ Non-Profit, with Guru Akhila Rao of Kathak Rhythms, Dallas-TX choreographing the Kathak dance sequences for the Show US Tour, 2019. The dances are performed by her senior disciples. Saturday, August 24, 2019 7:30:00 PM University Theater, University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), Richardson, TX In the story, a gorgeous girl, often losing herself in the thoughts of Vrindavan chances upon beautiful love on the meadow. Love blossoms, then meeting an uphill road of separation where mortal challenges of suspicion and fear dislocate her poise. Will she endure it? Will they rise in love? The show takes away from the Radha-Krishna metaphor, leaving the audience with a liberating message in a sensory journey of music, poetry and dance. Architect-Artist Anita Kulkarni works with the mission of interpreting the uplifting Indian arts to global audiences. Her conceptualized artistic themes, often illustrated through brilliant aesthetics, celebrate art by drawing people into the experience. Anita sees art as a powerful aesthetic expression to convey a holistic message. Anita’s productions have done extremely well world-over, with “Panorama” – the Kathak-BharataNatyam integration performing in France at a prestigious festival during its India run, ‘Gandhaar’ and ‘Pancham’ (Music Appreciation programs, supported by art grants), ‘Arts of India’ executed in partnership with The Taubman Museum of Art in Virginia-USA, ‘Sangam’ – a novel artistic presentation she directed in Houston-TX, ‘Nirmohi’ – a solo musical on the life-poetry of Kabeer and MeeraBai, and ‘Bhaav Bhairavi’ – A musical portrait of raag Bhairavi’s momentous emotional appeal. Anita is based in NJ-USA and splits time between India and the US. Akhila Rao has been in the field of Kathak for over 40 years and is the Founder-Director of Kathak Rhythms, a leading Dallas-based school training students in the art form of Kathak since 20 years. Many of her students have completed the Visharad (Graduation) level and their Manch Pravesh (Dance Debut). Her senior students have performed at prestigious programs receiving acclaim and recognition globally, through festivals such as Kal-Ke-Kalakar, Lotus World Festival, Gandharva Festival, Internaitonal Kathak Festival etc, and were honored with titles like Singar Mani, Natya Praveena and Nritya Gandharva. Akhila’s artistic work is noted for providing an opportunity to the second generation Indian diaspora and dance lovers to see Kathak in its purity and entirety, with the nuances of abhinaya (Acting), layakari (tempo-highlighting footwork) and padhant (rhythm reciting) that characterize Kathak. Akhila, with her choreographic designs and dance direction beautifully brings out the drama on the meadow. CreditsWritten, Directed, Produced: Anita KulkarniChoreography & Dance Direction: Akhila RaoMusic: Anita Kulkarni, Satyajit Kelkar, Amod Kulkarni, Chinmay KolhatkarCostumes: Anita Kulkarni, Akhila RaoPC: Gaurav Rokade Pompi Mukherjee (Odissi Dance) – From a young age, Pompi Mukherjee ,a Dallas based Odissi dancer was introduced to Odissi, under Late Guru Muralidhar Majhi. As a young adult, she pursued this dance form with Nritya Shiromani Guru Smt. Aloka Kanungo and is presently learning from Guru Supradipta Datta. In India, she has performed in prestigious venues like Kalamandir, Gyan Manch, Gorky Sadan and Rabindra Sadan to name a few. She has also been a regular artist of the network television of India. During her stay in the US, she also had the privilege of performing in the Indian Association of North Texas, Bengali Association of Dallas Fort Worth, The North American Bengali Conference, Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple, DFW Hindu Temple Society – Ekta Temple, AlokUtsav, Houston, The Dupree Theater, Dallas, Odissi Conference at North Carolina. Additionally, she has collaborated with legendary dancers like Guru Smt. Kalavati Devi (Maha Raas) and Meenakshi Sheshadri (Ganesh Vandana)

Hindustani Vocal Recital – Khayal Sangeet Omkar Dadarkar hails from a family of ‘Marathi Natyasangeet’ exponents. He received his initial guidance from his aunt, the late noted classical vocalist Manik Verma and thereafter from Ram Deshpande. After being awarded the CCRT scholarship (Delhi) for classical music, he was groomed by Pandit Yashwantbua Joshi under the scheme of Guru-Shishya-Parampara of the Dadar-Matunga Cultural Centre. A Sangeet Visharad and Bachelor of Arts in Marathi Literature and History, Omkar joined ITC-SRA as a scholar in July 1999, receiving rigorous talim under Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar. He completed his training in June 2005 with an A+ grade. He also trained in the light classical form under Vidushi Girija Devi and Srinivas Khale. His numerous awards include the prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for 2010 conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi to talented artistes below the age of 35, the Aditya Vikram Birla Puraskar in 2009, the “Shanmukhananda Hall-Mumbai-Sangeet Shiromani” award and he is also the first recipient of “Chaturanga Sangeet Shishyavrutti Award” given by Chaturanga Pratishthan in collaboration with Mhaiskar Foundation, Mumbai. Omkar who was previously working with Mumbai Educational Trust, as Music In-charge returned to ITC SRA as a Musician Tutor in 2010 and has been promoted to the position of Guru of the Academy in 2017. Saturday, June 01, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Milind Kulkarni’s natural flair for Harmonium reflects the eternal essence of Hindustani Classical Music as handed down in the true “Guru Shishya Parampara”. Milind took his initial training from Pandit Vsantrao Gurav and later on he has been taking the lessons from Pt. Pramod Marathe from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Milind earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music, specializing in Harmonium at Centre for Performing Arts, Pune University, Pune. He has accompanied many prominent vocalist, instrumentalist and Kathak Dance performers. Milind is a regular performer of All India Radio & Doordarshan (T.V.) network. 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.

Hindustani Vocal Recital – Khayal Sangeet Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan is blessed with a rare combination of teaching skills, fine temperament and an exceptional voice. He is one of the finest musicians of his generation. He comes from a great lineage of musicians of the Agra Gharana. He took his initial taalim from his maternal grandfather, Ustad Ata Hussain Khan, and later from his father, Ustad Naseem Ahmed Khan. He was a Scholar of ITC SRA under erstwhile Guru Ustad Shafi Ahmed Khan, who was his grand uncle. Waseem has focused on giving taalim to students of all ages. He is passionate about performing too. Having debutged at the age of 10, he has performed at various important concerts all over the country, singing at the ITC SRA Sangeet Sammelan at Delhi and the ITC SRA Guru-Sishya Parampara concert in Kolkata in 2003. In 2007, he toured France and Germany, one of his memorable performances being at the Theatre de-la-Ville in Paris. He also conducted workshops in Europe. A regular performer on All India Radio, he has been giving performances and conducting workshops all over the country via SPICMACAY since 1996. Saturday, April 27, 2019 4:30:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Dr. Vinay Mishra, an accomplished harmonium player, was born in Varanasi in a family of music lovers. While he has also learnt the sitar, the harmonium holds a special place in his heart. Vinay was born in the city of Varanasi in a family of music lovers. As a child, his father indulged his wish to learn classical music and decided to take him to Pandit Channulal Mishra for vocal lessons where he received his early training. Later on, he studied harmonium rigorously under the tutelage of Ustad Mehtab Khan and his father Ustad Chand Khan of Varanasi. Vinay also got a chance to learn the finer nuances of Indian classical harmonium playing from the legendary harmonium exponent Pt. AppaSaheb Jalgaonkar. Vinay also holds a Ph.D. in Music from University of Delhi and has a published a book called ‘Harmonium – Vividh Ayam’ which talks about the increasing importance of harmonium in today’s classical music era. He has shared the stage with eminent artists such as Girija Devi, Ashwini Bhide, Pt Ulhas Kashalkar, Ud Rashid Khan, Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, Pts Rajan Sajan Mishra, Prabha Atre, Pt Ajay Pohankar, Pt Sanjeev Abhyankar, Shruti Shadolikar, Parveen Sultana, etc. for last 15 years in all the prestigious music festivals in India and has toured extensively over United States, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Pandit Ashis Sengupta is a versatile percussionist of the Banaras gharana. He received his initial training from his father Shri Ranjit Kumar Sengupta and was later groomed by Pandit Nanku Maharaj, Pandit Mahapurush Mishra and Pandit Krishna Kumar Ganguly. Pt. Sengupta has innovated to the various rhythmic compositions learnt from his Gurus and is also blessed with a lot of traditional compositions, Stotras and varieties of Gats from the great Gurus. Both as a soloist and an accompanist to widely varied music styles and performers, he is also an established western drummer to his credit. Apart from playing Tabla, he has composed Bhajans and music arrangements for light music compositions recorded by many reputed audio-video companies. Apart from his extensive global tour, he has participated India festival in Moscow, Germany, France, Holland UK, USA and Canada. He has accompanied some of the very distinguished Hindustani musicians of today as well as of the past like Pt. Nivrutti Bua Sarnaik, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansoor, Smt. Gangubai Hangal, Smt. Sunanda Pattanayak, Pandit Manilal Nag, Vidushi. Girija Devi, Pt. L. K. Pandit, Pandit Rajan and Sajan Misra, Vidushi Arti Anklekar, Pt. Gokulotsav Maharaj, Ud Rashid Khan, Pt. V. G. Jog, Pt. Vinayak Torvi, Pt. Ronu Majumder, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pt. Kaivalya Kumar, Pt. Venkatesh Kumar, Pt. Shantanu Bhattacharyya and Pt Jayateerth Mevundi to name a few. Most recently, he has written a book on Tabla named “Facets of Tabla Playing”, published by Kanishka Publishers, New Delhi. He has traveled extensively all over the globe for his performances and lecture-demonstration on Tabla playing under the aegis of numerous organizations. At present he is a member of the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi.

Shaam-e-Ghazal: Ustad Tari Khan Live in Concert A disciple of legendary Ustad Mehdi Hassan and Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan, Ustad Tari Khan has captured audience imaginations worldwide as a both a ghazal and tabla maestro. Raised by a classical vocalist father and groomed by two legendary Ustads during a golden era of music, he represents a unique product of melodic and rhythmic pedigree. As Tariji was a rising star in the early 70s and touring with Mehdi Hassan as an accompanist, he was under continuous talim, from the ghazal legend. Once established as one of the foremost percussionists in India and Pakistan, Tariji turned his performance prowess to ghazals and quickly established himself as a leading vocalist. His rendition preserves Ustad Mehdi Hassan’s depth and feeling while displaying his unique innovation, leaving audiences spellbound. Tariji has received the highest global accolades for the better part of four decades, including Pakistan’s coveted Pride of Performance, her highest award for artistic excellence. In the last several years he has given many vocal concerts in prestigious sold out venues across India, Pakistan, Europe, Australia, US, and Canada and drawn critical acclaim. In recent years, Tariji has continued to evolve, as a composer, by crossing generas with film and with western artists, and as an ambassador of eastern music with the Doris Duke foundation. Saturday, April 06, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Mohammad Bashir Khan, originally from Rajasthan India, is one of the foremost exponents of his instrument, Bubul Tarang. He hails from a family of six generations of artists. As a follower of the Kirana Gharana under maestro Abdul Rehman Khansahib, he has applied his training to this unique instrument and regularly accompanied the highest profile artists including Ustad Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Nursrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pankaj Udas, and Hari Haran. He regularly works with Bollywood movie directors and can be heard in many movies. Arif Mani is a stage performer, studio artist, a composer, and a sound engineer. A versatile artist, he plays a wide range of key based instruments including piano, electronic keyboard and harmonium. He has performed and recorded with various renowned artists including Ghulam Abbas, Parvez Mehdi, Abida Parveen, Rafaqat Ali Khan, and many others. He worked for Pakistan Television as a music director and composer and was awarded best composer in 2010. Matt Gaskins has sang and played instruments since the age of 5 and pursued a career in music steeped in both performance and music education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in percussion from Cameron University and Master in jazz vocal from University of North Texas. He has worked across genres for over 30 year and worked with acclaimed jazz artists like Vinnie Colaiuta. Matt happened upon Hindustani classical music in his teens and studied sitar under sitar maestro Ustad Imrat Khan and eventually became a disciple of Ustad Tari Khan. He has applied his talents and education across genres on a regular basis, including working with Abhit Pohankar of Piya Bawari and Ustad Tari Khan. Matt was also founder of Neighbor Arts and Music School (NAMS) an established music school in Frisco, Texas and is currently Music Director at Imagine International Academy of North Texas. Shahrukh Taj was born in a musical family and started playing tabla at an early age. In his teens he became a formal disciple of Ustad Tari Khan, one of the foremost exponents of the instrument. Over the years he has accompanied various renowned artists including Fida Hussain, Ghulam Abbas, Hari Haran, and Parvez Ali Khan (Parvez Mehdi) to name a few. Shahrukh has worked with classical and semi-classical artists as well as western musicians for 20 years and has been teaching tabla in the DFW area for nearly 10 years.

Hindustani Sarod Recital – Khayal Sangeet Pandit Debojyoti Bose is disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and one of the principle torch bearer of the famous Senia Bangash Gharana. Debojyoti hails from an illustrious family of tabla players. He naturally inherits an unstrained musical acumen, for he was born in a family of passionate musicians at Kolkata. He is the fourth generation musician in the Bose family. His great grandfather Sri Akshay Kumar Bose, a jaminder of Pankobil in Jessore, now in Bangladesh, had a great passion for tabla which was passed on to the generations that followed. That is how he is a born tabla player. His father Pandit Biswanath Bose a tabla legend of Benaras gharana, a disciple of Pandit Kanthe Maharaj and his mother Smt. Bharati Bose a keen Sitar player and a disciple of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, sowed the seed of music in him by imparting the early lessons. Debojyoti achieved so many awards, some of which are – Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan scholarship(1981)from SBKK, Delhi, Kal-ke-Kalakar (BHU,Varanasi,1984),felicitated by Rabindra Bharati University (Kolkata,1989), Anandalok Award by ABP (1999),felicitated by Vishwabharati University (Shantiniketan 2000),Citizen of Honor from Brown University(2002). Visited Indonesia as an Indian delegate in 2002.Visited Russia, China & Mongolia as a state guest in 2009.Invited to perform in Salon de Virtuoso (New York).Selected as jurist in Tele Samman in 2007. Worked with Mazdidik Nini Thowo a legendery dancer of Indonesia performed with Renowned Chinas Musician. Debojyoti has performed in all major festivals in India including The Dover Lane Music Conference (Kolkata), Saptak (Ahmedabad), Harballav Festival (Jallundher),Sarod Festival (Delhi), Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior), SangeetSabha (Pune), Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh & Dhrupad Mela (Varanasi), Sangeet Natak Academy Concert (Chennai & Hyderabad), Parampara Concert ICCR (Delhi), ITC Sangeet Sammelan, etc. He has also toured extensively abroad including USA, Russia, Indonesia, UK, Bangladesh, Australia, etc. Saturday, March 23, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Christian Church, 450 E. St. Mary Drive, Allen TX 75002 Pandit Abhijit Banerjee is considered one the finest ranking tabla players from India and a sought-after artist. He started learning tabla at a very young age from Sri Tushar Kanti Bose, later from Sri Manik Pal and finally came under the tutelage of Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh. As a child he won many Music competitions of national repute. Besides tabla he had his training in vocal music and in violin. Abhijit is now a regular performer at all the major music conferences all over India and overseas. He has accompanied maestros such as Pt.Ravi Shankar, late Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Dr. Balamurali Krishnan, etc. Besides accompanying all the major artistes of India, both in North Indian and South Indian traditions, he has presented himself as a solo performer in many music conferences in India and Abroad. He has toured extensively all over the world and also associated himself with Jazz world and performed with some Jazz musicians and groups in New York. Abhijit has conducted many seminars on Indian Classical Music at Universities in USA, Japan, England and Spain. Abhijit has recorded many CDs with many reputed companies accompanying almost all the major artists in Indian Classical Music today; as well as many well-known Jazz musicians. Abhijit has composed music for TV serials and short films of which The Trails – a film on Calcutta- got the National Award and is invited in the film festivals in Amsterdam and Munich. Abhijit had the privilege of representing India in the World Festival of Music held in Granada, Spain. In his academic life he is a graduate in English and post graduate in Journalism. He has his own touring ensemble named Tarang and he is also member of Raga Jazz group, Arohi Ensemble. He has founded the Dhwani Academy of Percussion Music (Dhwani literally means Sound). This is mainly a percussion academy inclined to teach Tabla (Indian Drum) along with other Indian percussion instruments like Pakhwaj, Ghatam, etc. Dhwani is in India and also in Los Angeles and New York.

The Art stage ICMC presents its annual event presenting a medley of several short vocal, instrumental and dance performances, by performing and amateur musicians of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. This event is free to general public. The primary reasons for this concert are to bring awareness about Indian classical music in the community and also to stage upcoming talent. Since its inception in 1983, ICMC has built the most comprehensive concert series and is regarded as the premier producer of Indian classical music and dance in Dallas/Fort Worth and the surrounding area, by consistently presenting more than seven culturally diverse concerts a year for the sole benefit of its members and the general public. ICMC’s mission is to entertain, to interest, to educate, to train and to provide spiritual nourishment to its members and the general public, and to significantly contribute to the multiethnic heritage and the cultural vitality of the city, through its concerts. Saturday, March 23, 2019 4:00:00 PM Allen Christian Church, 450 E. St. Mary Drive, Allen TX 75002

Fall Fest 2018 ICMC presents Fall Fest 2018 presenting a medley of several short vocal, instrumental and dance performances, by ICMC member musicians. This event is FREE to general public. The primary reasons for this concert are to bring awareness about Indian classical music in the community and also to stage upcoming talent. Since its inception in 1983, ICMC has built the most comprehensive concert series and is regarded as the premier producer of Indian classical music and dance in Dallas/Fort Worth and the surrounding area, by consistently presenting more than seven culturally diverse concerts a year for the sole benefit of its members and the general public. ICMC’s mission is to entertain, to interest, to educate, to train and to provide spiritual nourishment to its members and the general public, and to significantly contribute to the multiethnic heritage and the cultural vitality of the city, through its concerts. Saturday, December 01, 2018 3:00:00 PM Kathak Rhythms Studio, 4020 Hedgcoxe Road, Suite 150, Plano, TX 75024