Friday, April 7, 2000, 8:00 pm
Ashwini Bhide Deshpande
(Hindustani Vocal)
with
Vishwanath Shirodkar (Tabla)
Seema Shirodkar (Harmonium)
Venue:
Ferguson Recital Hall, Music Department,
University of Minnesota, West Bank campus,
Minneapolis
About the artists:
Amongst the vocalists of the younger generation belonging to the Jaipur- Atrauli gharana (tradition) of khayal singing, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande is an artist of great caliber. She has been performing in a number of prestigious music conferences in India for over fifteen years and has had successful concert tours of Europe and North America previously. Ashwini began her training at the age of five under the guidance of Pandit Narayanrao Datar. After graduating with a “sangeet visharad" from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, she started receiving guidance and meticulous attention from her mother, Smt. Manik Bhide, a great khayal singer herself. Ashwini has inherited all that was best in her mother's style and was able to add a lot to her repertoire with great sensitivity and intellect. Presently she is receiving guidance from Pandit Ratnakar Pai, a veteran of the Jaipur gharana. Systematic exposition of the raga structure, brilliant phrasing, variety of taan patterns, ease and grace in all of the three octaves, mark her singing. She does not merely present the grammer of a raga, but can build it up into an aesthetically pleasing experience. A resident of Mumbai, Ashwini is a graduate in Microbiology and also holds a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry.
Vishwanath Shirodkar has been recognized as one of the best accompanists of the younger generation. He was initiated into tabla by Shri Suryakant Naik, and later on he received training from Pandit Vaibhav Nageshkar. At present, he is receiving advanced training from Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, who is one of the most revered teachers of tabla. Vishwanath has accompanied many well known vocalists and instrumentalists. These include Padma Talwalkar, Rashid Khan, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, C. R. Vyas, Shobha Gurtu, Malini Rajurkar, Shubha Mudgal, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Rakesh Chaurasia, Brij Narayan, N. Rajam, Ulhas Bapat and Zarin Daruwala. Vishwanath is a graduate in engineering but devotes all of his time to classical music. He has toured U.S.A., Canada, South America, the Middle East and has performed in all major cities of India
Beginning at a very early age Seema Shirodkar had an acute interest in music, and started her initial training under the guidance of Shri Umesh Ansulkar. Then came a period of several years during which she received extensive training under the able guidance of Pandit Tulsidas Borkar, recognized by many as a complete teacher. She also benefited from her association with the Late Shri Vishwanath Pendharkar, one of the most gifted and versatile teachers. It was Pandit Borkar who groomed her as an accompanist and Shri Pendharkar who taught her the fine points of a solo performer. Seema has accompanied vocalists that include Kishori Amonkar, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Rashid Khan, Padma Talwalkar, Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, C. R. Vyas, Shubha Mudgal, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Sanjeev Abhyankar and Prabhakar Karekar. Seema is a graduate of the S.N.D.T. University and is on the faculty of the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Mumbai. Seema has gone on successful concert tours of U.S.A., Europe, U. K., Canada and several countries of the Middle East.
© Copyright 2001 Indian Music Society of Minnesota