Friday, November 12, 1999, 7:00 pm
"Shaam-e-Ghazal" - Baithak Style Concert
Debasish Sarkar (Semi-classical vocal)
with
Kousic Sen (Tabla) &
Allalaghatta Pavan (Tabla)
Jayanta Banerjee (Sitar)
with
Kousic Sen (Tabla)
Chandan Reddy (Semi-classical vocal)
with
Allalaghatta Pavan (Tabla)
Venue:
The residence of late Dr. Raj Dutt and Mrs. Kanak Dutt
North Oaks, MN
About the artists:
Vocalist Debasish Sarkar hails from a family of musicians. Masters such as Ustad Ghulam Mohammad Khan, Sri. Sukhendu Goswami, Ustad Sagiruddin Khan and Sri. Sukumar Mitra have guided his vocal music training. He is now a nationally known composer and vocalist. Over the years he has contributed to the regeneration of music for Kathak and Odissi dances, reviving old compositions with the aid of research. Renowned as a composer, vocalist and instrumentalist, he has participated in various dance and music conferences all over India, the UK. He was invited to perform at The Festival of India at London, UK in 1984. This will be his third USA tour. He is also a consummate master of the harmonium.
Tabla artist Kousic Sen, a child prodigy, was initiated in Tabla playing by Professor Biswanath Bose of the Benares Gharana and later became a disciple of the Tabla wizard Pandit Kumar Bose. Kousic is an accomplished soloist and accompanist, and has performed with many luminaries of Indian dance and music and world music. Over the last decade Kousic has been performing in all the major festivals in India, UK, Europe, Canada and USA.
Jayanta Banerjee is a talented upcoming young Sitar artist from Calcutta, India. In 1997 he was awarded 1st Place in the National Youth festival at Ahmedabad. In 1996 he received 1st place in West Bengal State Student - Youth festival organized by Department of Sports and Youth Services. He was awarded the 1st position at Swarprabhat Talent Search Contest organized by the Salt Lake Cultural association in 1998. In 1995 he was 1st place winner for Golden Talent Search organized by Pandit Ravi Kichlu Foundation and also in the same year he stood in the 2nd. Place in sitar-sarod competition organized by West Bengal State Sangeet Academy. He was one of the accompanists for Pandit Birju Maharaj's production of 'Shristi, presented by Padatik Dance Center in 1999. He is also a soloist, having performed at various festivals in India.
Chandan Reddy is an accomplished singer and harmonium player visiting from Nagpur, India. His extensive training in Hindustani vocal music has been from many stalwarts such as Pandit Omkarnath Thakur and Pandit Sankar Rao Sapre. He has assisted in the music direction of several Hindi films and has worked closely with many top names in Indian film music. Although his specialty is the rendition of Ghazals, he is equally adept at singing Bhajans and Geet, with a classical base. Sri Chandan Reddy enthralled Twin Cities audiences with a series of Ghazal concerts in recent months.
Allalaghatta Pavan is a Research Scientist at the Honeywell Laboratories, Minneapolis and is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota’s Computer Science Department. Pavan trained for seven years under Sri. Gandam Laxmiah of Hyderabad, the foremost disciple of the renowned Ustad Sheikh Dawood Khan of the Lucknow/Farrukhabad Gharanas of Tabla. He continues his training in Tabla under eminent visiting artists such as Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Vijay Shankar, Sri. Ambika Prasad Mishra and Sri. Gopal Mishra. He has performed on the Tabla several times in programs presented by the Nritya Jyoti Dance Theater, the IMSOM, the Minnesota Dance Alliance and Pangea World Theater. In 1994, Pavan was the featured Tabla player in Minnesota rock artist James Grant's CD "Not the Only World." In 1996, he co- scripted and co-directed "Shishir Utsav" (Winter Festival), leading a 80 member ensemble in a presentation of Indian classical, folk and light music, dance and theater. Pavan teaches Tabla in the Twin Cities. Pavan has been the President of IMSOM since 1997 and has served IMSOM in various capacities since 1990.
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