Singing Strings – Sitar & Violin Jugalbandi
Pandit Nayan Ghosh is acclaimed in India and around the world as one of India’s foremost musicians, with an unusual dimension – the only maestro with superlative command on two diverse instruments the Sitar and the Tabla. Artistic brilliance, rich repertoire and a magnificence of tone are his hallmarks. Deeply loved by the senior most stalwarts of the music scene like Pt. Ravi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Ud. Vilayat Khan, the legendary Ud. Ahmedjan Thirakwa and many others besides enjoying an unusually high level of respect from all his contemporaries and younger musicians, he is already held as an important reference source for a whole new generation of music seekers. Son and disciple of the 20th century Tabla wizard Pt. Nikhil Ghosh and nephew of Pt. Pannalal Ghosh, “the Father of Indian Classical Flute”, Nayan has inherited the rich and learned legacy from his five or six predecessors and carries it with a dignity and grace that is rare. His sitar recitals sparkle with intense melodiousness and rich delineations, bringing out the depth and the true spirit of the raga. He has performed at all major festivals in India and toured extensively US, Canada, Europe, Australia, Far East, North Africa, etc. Presently, as Director of India’s leading music academy, the SANGIT MAHABHARATI in Juhu, Mumbai, Nayan is imparting advanced training to numerous young aspiring musicians. He is also presently a Distinguished Guest Professor at IIT-Bombay, teaching tabla, sitar, vocal and musicology at the Cell for Human Values. Nayan has played a vital role in the completion of his late father’s magnum-opus THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE MUSIC OF INDIA, which was published worldwide in 2011 after a full 50 years of intensive and extensive research.
Praveen Sheolikar an exceptionally talented violinist of India. Steeped in Gayki-Ang, in Praveen’s hands the violin expresses itself in an utterly sensitive and emotive manner. Praveen hails from a family with a musical tradition. His granfather Pt. Rambhau Sheolikar of Raipur was a great musician and his father Pt. Vasantrao Sheolikar is a well known violinist of Madhya Pradesh and a recipient of the coveted “SHIKHAR SAMMAN” which is the highest award conferred by the M.P. government in the field of performing art. Praveen started taking lessons from his grandfather at the age of 9 years and then mastered the technique and subtleties of violin under the watchful eyes of his father. Praveen has given many successfull performance all over India and Rome (Italy). He is an ‘A’ Grade artist of All India Radio. He has also performed in prestigious Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan held in Udaypur 2006. He has presented his diverse repertoire at numerous music concerts at many prestigious music festivals.
Born in 2000, in a family steeped in music, Ishaan Ghosh took to Tabla naturally and gave his first brief solo tabla performance at the age of 2-1/2. In 2008, Ishaan played Tabla Jugalbandi concerts with his father and Guru Pandit Nayan Ghosh in Switzerland, France and Spain at International Music Festivals. At 9, he was invited to perform along with his father in the Indo-Occidental Symbiosis “Jugalbandi Festival” at the Kala Mandir in Kolkata and the Sangeet Natak Academy-organized “Tabla Samaroha” in Kolhapur. In 2010, he accompanied his father on an extensive concert tour of USA, Hawaii and Mexico. Of recent in 2012, Ishaan has also performed at prestigious venues in India like the Sangeet Research Academy (SRA), the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), the 150th birth anniversary of Ustad Allauddin Khan in Maihar, the Pannalal Ghosh Birth Centenary Celebrations at Mumbai’s Nehru Centre auditorium. It is rare to see a child of this age with an unusual level of musical instinct and maturity in musical thought. He continues to pursue the study of the Tabla and devote time to its practice, in addition to academic studies at Mumbai’s prestigious Jamnabai Narsee School. He is simultaneously receiving training in Sitar and vocal music from his father.