Pooja Goswami (Hindustani Semi-Classical Vocal) - Baithak
[A concert of Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Bhajan, and
seasonal folk songs such as Kajri, Chaiti, Sawani, Hori etc.]
with
Vikas Falnikar (Harmonium)
and
A.Pavan (Tabla)
Sunday, November 14, 2004, 5:00 pm
Please Note:
This will be a Baithak style concert. The
audience will be seated up close to the performers in an intimate and informal setting.
Please bring a sheet or floor-pillow for comfortable seating on the floor.
Indian snacks and tea will be served (FREE) following the
concert. The duration of the concert is likely to be around 2 1/2 hours.
Venue:
Pangea World Theater Studio
Calhoun Arts Building
711 W Lake St Suite 101, Minneapolis, 55408
For a map and parking information please see below.
Tickets:
Advance: General $10.00, Students/Seniors/IMSOM Members $8.00
Purchase tickets in
advance here and save $$s
Gate: General $12.00, Students/Seniors/IMSOM
Members $10.00
IMSOM members can avail of their passes at the Baithak
concerts (in addition to the regular concerts). This is the last opportunity to use IMSOM
members passes for 2004.
The advance sale of tickets closes at 11PM the night before the
concert.
About the artists:
Pooja
Goswami was born in a musical family and received her early training from her father
Sri Surendra Goswami, himself a disciple of Sri B.N. Dutta of the Kirana Gharana. Till
date, he continues to be her teacher, mentor & guide. She received her M.Phil degree
from the University of Delhi and is currently working towards her Ph.D. under the guidance
of Prof. Ajit Singh Paintal; the subject of her thesis being the life and music of Pandit
Amarnath. She is also taking music training from him, learning the nuances of Khayal
Gayaki. Pooja is also learning semi-classical music from the eminent vocalist Smt Shanti
Hiranand, the Regina of Ghazals and the universally acclaimed successor of the Late Begum
Akhtar. The versatility in Pooja's repertoire is evident in her ability to sing Thumri,
Dadra, Ghazal & Bhajan besides Khayals. Pooja has received the prestigious National
Scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Human Resources Development and the Sahitya Kala
Parishad's scholarship for further training in classical and semi-classical music. She was
adjudged the best classical singer in a music competition "Suron-Ke-Silsiley",
by the vocal Maestros, Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra. India's leading record label,
T-Series, has released a cassette of Bhajans by Pooja. Pooja's recent performances at
several prestigious venues such as the India Habitat Center, the music society Tarannum
and the SOPAN festival, have won her accolades from audiences and critics alike.
Vikas Falnikar had his initial training from his father Sri Shashikant Falnikar from who he picked up the nuances of playing the harmonium and the flute. He has also learnt vocal music from his mother Smt Shobhana Falnikar and his sister Smt Lata Kanetkar (a well-known singer in Baroda). Vikas continues to train with visiting artists from India as and when opportunity presents. He has provided harmonium accompaniment to a number of artists including Pandit Vinay Bhide, Smt Alka Deo-Marulkar, Smt Shobha Joshi and Ghazal singer Rajkumar Rizvi. Vikas has also provided Lehara accompaniment on the harmonium to well known Tabla players such as Shyam Kane, Ustad Shabbir Nissar and Anubrata Chatterjee. Vikas is also an accomplished singer of light music (Geet and Ghazal). He presently lives in the Chicago area and is in constant demand both for his harmonium accompaniment and his singing
Allalaghatta Pavan has been trained in
Tabla under several masters including the Late Sri Gandam Laxmiah, Sri Ambika Prasad
Mishra, Sri Gopal Mishra and Pandit Birju Maharaj. Currently he trains with Sri Rajendra
Nakod in Bangalore. He has been very active in the Twin Cities' music scene and was the
President of the Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) from 1997 to 2001 and continues
to serve as an advisor to the IMSOM Executive Committee. Over the years, he has performed
for Katha Dance Theater, Abhinaya Theater, Minnesota Dance Alliance, Pangea World Theater
and IMSOM in several productions and concerts. Pavan also appears on recordings of
world/fusion music with local artists. Since 1999, Pavan has been providing instruction to
a number of Tabla students. In 2002, Pavan composed and performed live (with Nirmala
Rajasekar), the score for Pangea World Theater's production "Partitions", staged
at the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis. A research scientist at Honeywell Labs, Pavan
is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota from where he received his Ph.D in Computer
Science.
Directions and parking: 
The Pangea World Theater Studio is located in the Calhoun Arts Building in Uptown Minneapolis, on the Southwest corner of Lake St and Lyndale Ave. There is limited street parking (Note: free meters on Sundays) available on Lake and Lyndale - if not, try one or more of the streets parallel to Lake and/or Lyndale for free street parking. There is also a paid parking lot on the Northeast corner of Lake and Lyndale (next to Fujiya restaurant).
See map on the
right or go to www.mapquest.com for driving
directions.
Address: 711 W Lake St,
Minneapolis, MN 55408
The Pangea World Theater Studio is in Suite 101.
Contact:
Ameeta Kelekar
(651) 787-0497
Shivanthi Sathanandan (651) 698-0774
Acknowledgement:
IMSOM events are made possible, in part, by funds provided by, the Metropolitan Regional
Arts Council's (MRAC) "Arts Activities Grant" through an appropriation by the
Minnesota state legislature, the General Mills Foundation's "Celebrating Communities
of Color" Grant, the Honeywell Foundation's "Dollars for Doers" Grant and
IMSOM members. This concert is co-sponsored by KFAI Radio (90.3FM Minneapolis / 106.7FM
St. Paul).