The Art Stage 2023 08/26/23

The Art Stage 2023 ICMC presents its annual event presenting a medley of several short vocal and instrumental performances, by presenting amateur musicians of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. 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, August 26, 2023 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013

Surbahar & Sitar Recital – Meditative Strings One of the finest Sitar virtuosi amongst the present generation, and a worthy torchbearer of the famed Sarod Gharana of Senia Shahjahanpur, Pt. Sugato Nag started his training at the age of eight under the guidance of Late Shri Anil Roychowdhury. Sugato next became the disciple of sarod maestro, Sangeetacharya Radhika Mohan Maitra. He next took extensive training and guidance under renowned sarodiya, Late Padmabhushan Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta. He has also taken talim from Pt. Ajoy Sinha Roy of the Maihar Gharana. Sugato’s recital has a blending of the sitar baaj or style of playing of Ustad Vilayat Khan and the rabab based sarod baaj of Ud. Ameer Khan of Shahjahanpore. A very melodious and sensitive player, Sugato’s immense talent is evident in the way he handles the sitar, playing and synthesizing two very different types of baaj to create an unique and ‘completely satisfying listening experience’. Apart from performing all over India, Sugato has toured extensively in the US, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Holland, Australia, Japan and Mexico, playing in University circuits as well as in Music Conferences and holding the audience in sway with his scintillating and exquisite performances. Sugato has given a number of lectures cum demonstrations in Universities, music institutions and schools in the US, UK, Australia and Germany and have collaborated with western musicians in Australia to present Raga music through a western instrument ensemble and sitar. An ‘A’ grade musician of All India Radio and Doordarshan, and an ICCR empaneled artist, Sugato is a well-known teacher having disciples around the globe. Saturday, June 10, 2023 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 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 Duet Recital – Khayal Sangeet Born in the family of traditional legendary musicians, Apoorva Gokhale has carved a niche for herself as one of the sought after well-known vocalists of the younger generation with a firm background of Gwalior Gharana. She has an impressive musical lineage and has proudly and responsibly inherited the musical qualities from her grandfather, the late Gayanacharya Pandit Gajananrao Joshi and her great- grandfather Pandit Antubua Joshi, an eminent court musician in the erstwhile state of Aundh, district Satara. At a very tender age of five, she initially received a sound grooming from her grandfather Pandit Gajananrao Joshi. Later on, she received rigorous training under the guidance her uncle Pandit Madhukarrao Joshi. She also received guidance her aunt Dr. Sucheta Bidkar and Padmashri Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar. Also learnt basics from her father Manohar Joshi. She also received able guidance from Pandit Shankar Abhyankar, an eminent sitarist and composer, Smt. Manik Bhide, Smt. Ashwini Bhide –Deshpande, Pandit Yeshwant Mahale and Pandit Arun Kashalkar. Apoorva has bagged many prestigious prizes, scholarships and awards in her performing career. Saturday, May 20, 2023 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Born in the family of musicians, Pallavi Joshi has inherited traditional music and represents the 5th generation of the rich heritage of her family. Her training started at the age of 5 from her grandfather, Pandit Gajananbuva Joshi whose gayaki was a perfect blend of three gharanas Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra gharana. After the demise of Pt. Gajananbuva Joshi, she has taken her training from her uncle Pt. Madhukar Joshi for more than 25 years. She has also received guidance from her aunt Dr. Sucheta Bidkar & from her father, Shri. Manohar Joshi. She has been awarded Govt. of India National Scholarship for Hindustani Classical vocal young artistes. Pallavi is a graduate in Biotechnology and holds a Master’s degree in Management Studies. She has given many solo concerts and sahagayan concerts with her elder sister Smt Apoorva Gokhale in a number of prestigious music conferences in India and abroad. Chinmay Kolhatkar is one of the most popular and sought after harmonium player in the country. He is the disciple of the renowned Harmonium maestro Dr. Arawind Thatte. He is a graduate in Electronic Engineering. After his graduation he decided to take music as his profession. He has performed with all leading vocalists, tabla players and kathak dancers all over India and abroad. He has accompanied artists like Smt. Kishori Amonkar, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Dr. Ashwini Bhide, Smt. Malini Rajurkar and many more. He has provided lehra accompaniment to great tabla maestros like Ud. Zakir Hussain, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Yogesh Samsi, etc. He has also accompanied eminent dancers like Pt. Birju Maharaj, Smt. Rohini Bhate, Smt. Shama Bhate etc. Chinmay is also a well-known music composer. He has composed music for various albums and ballets. He also works as a freelance recordist for various projects. Sanjay Deshpande 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. He also had the privilege of understanding the beauty of Punjab Gharana under the guidance of Tabla maestro Ustad. Alla Rakha Khan Saheb. At present he is taking guidance from Pt. 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 such great artists. He has performed in major conferences such as Sawai Gandharwa Music Festival Pune, Paluskar Smarak Conference, Shankarlal Samaroha in New Delhi, ITC Sangeet Sammelan. Doverlane Conference, Kolkata. Sanjay has performed abroad in countries like USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Holland, Qatar, Sri Lanka, South Korea etc. He has also participated in the “World Vocal Festival” in Sweden. He is empaneled as Guru at the Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pu

Sarod Recital – Singing Strings One of the youngest President Award Winning “A” Grade Sarod artists of All India Radio & National Television – Kolkata, Abhisek Lahiri has won the hearts of discerning audiences worldwide with his maturity, depth & perfection already at the age of 29. Abhisek was initiated in Sarod at an early age of 5 and trained under the tutelage of his father as well as Guru, eminent Sarod maestro Pandit Alok Lahiri & became one of his premier disciples. Abhisek’s Sarod recital has a blending of three major Gharanas of Sarod playing: Shajahanpur, Senia Maihar & Senia Bangash Gharana (Gwalior). Abhisek possesses the dignity of being the First Indian Musician along with his eminent father to perform in “Europe Parliament” in France and also in “Canada Culture Days” in Hamilton, Canada on invitation of The Malhar Group. Abhisek is an empaneled member artist of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi. Abhisek took part in the “World Kinder Festival” in Holland & enthralled the audiences as a ‘Wonder Child Sarod Player’ in 1997. The Dutch Television network telecasts his recitals countrywide even now. Abhisek has some CD albums released to his credit: His two solo albums “Sparkling Sarod’ and “Mood of Puriya Kalyan” released by Bihaan Music received nominations in Global Indian Music Awards (GiMA) of Mumbai in “Best Hindustani Classical Album- Instrumental” category for the year 2010 & 2014 respectively. His latest release “IONAH Trio” CD album along with Japanese Guitarist Hideaki Tsuji is also getting worldwide appreciation. Abhisek has performed extensively within India and across the world in countries like USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka etc. Saturday, April 29, 2023 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 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.

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 12, 2022 4:00:00 PM Allen Christian Church, 450 E. St. Mary Drive, Allen TX 75002 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 Sangeet Born into a rich legacy of music, Pandit Bhuvanesh Komkali was destined to be a singer. Surrounded by the sound of an incomparable vocalist tradition since conception, Bhuvanesh grew up with the rhythms and shifting weight of original compositions imbuing hi senses. Even if he cared not to listen, the pulse could not be ignored because it was in his blood. Grandson of Pandit Kumar Gandharva, son of Mukul Shivputra, Bhuvanesh’s musical journey began, unbeknownst to him, in infancy. Bhuvanesh’s earliest memories are filled with the sounds of early morning practice, performances and recordings. His musical quest continues today under the tutelage of Smt. Vasundhara Komkali and Shri Madhup Mudgal. Analytical environment and meditating over the different aspects of classical music boosted energy to bloom and glow his artistic personality. By following the values and philosophy established by Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Bhuvanesh proves his commitment and persistence for music through his singing. Bhuvanesh has composed music for Hindi feature film ‘Devi Ahilya’. Bhuvanesh has performed successfully in almost all over India in reputed music festivals and has been highly appreciated by the well versed audience. He has been awarded with scholarship by cultural department of Government of India. In the year 2009 he was awarded by and Shanmukhanand Shiromani Award & Mallikarjun Mansur yuva puraskaar by Govt. of Karnataka in 2010 and Sangeet Natak Akademi’s prestigious Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in 2012 He is a regular performer for All India Radio. He was sent by Govt of India to perform in Mauritius and Nepal. He has performed in USA and Canada in 2015. Saturday, October 29, 2022 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Abhishek Shinkar comes from the family of music lovers and connoisseurs. He took primary lessons of music from Shankar Mahajan for 8 years. Later he carried his training for vocal and harmonium under the guidance of Pt. Nathrao Neralkar at Aurangabad for next 5 years under Gurushishya Parampara. Post that, he has been taking formal lessons for harmonium under the tutelage of Pt. Pramod Marathe at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Pune under Gurushishya Parampara for the past 5 years, which still continues. He is also fortunate to receive guidance from Taalyogi Pt. Sureshji Talwalkar. He has accompanied various artist of great repertoire at many prestigious concerts, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Nathrao Neralkar, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt. Vijay Ghate, Pt. Ramdas Palsule, Vidushi Kalapini Komkali, Pandita Padma Talwalkar, Pt. Raghunandan Panshikar, Pt Bhuvanesh Komkali, Pt. Supreet Deshpande, Smt. Manjusha Patil Kulkarni, Smt. Devaki Pandit to name a few. He had also performed solo concerts at various occasions, at NCPA Mumbai, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Pune to name a few. Apart from this he has done his Masters of Arts in harmonium and is also a visharad in harmonium and vocal. He also has many awards and recognition to his name out of which few are: Pt Vishnu Digamber Paluskar Scholarship, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune ,Secured first position in National Youth festival for Harmonium , Pt. D.V. Paluskar Award, Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Mumbai and the prestigious Scholarship from Ministry of Culture, India. Sanjay Deshpande 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 . 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 such great artists. 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 . Doverlane 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 empaneled as GURU at the Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pune. His fusion album “Wind From Ayuta” with Korean musicians won the Best album award of the year – 2002 in South Korea.

Fall Fest 2022 ICMC presents Fall Fest 2022 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 then 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 multi-ethnic heritage and the cultural vitality of the city, through its concerts. Saturday, September 10, 2022 4:00:00 PM Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013