Ustad Shabbir Nisar (Tabla Solo)
with
Sri Arun Bagal (Harmonium and Violin)

Concert: Saturday, August 27, 2005, 7:30 pm

Workshop: August 28-31 (See details below)

This concert is co-sponsored by KFAI "Fresh Air" Radio (90.3 FM in Minneapolis and 106.7FM in Saint Paul).

Venue:

Pangea World Theater Studio
711 W Lake St., Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55408

See map and directions below.

Tickets:

Purchase advance tickets online (you save $2/ticket by purchasing in advance)

Workshop Details:

Pangea World Theater Studio
711 W Lake St., Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Workshop Dates and times:

The workshop is for beginners and intermediate level students. You are expected, however, to have a good foundation in the basic strokes and sound production and to have the ability to comprehend basic Theka, Kayda, Tihaai, and Tukda (compositional forms). You need to bring your own Tabla set.

Audio taping is allowed, but no video taping is permitted. Participants are expected to attend all four sessions. There is no pro-rated fee for partial attendance. The workshop will be in small groups during the said times and dates.

Ustad Shabbir Nisar is the son of the legendary Tabla maestro Ustad Shaikh Dawood Khan of Hyderabad, India. Under his illustrious father's tutelage, Shabbir inherited a vast wealth of tabla compositions from Delhi, Purab, and Farukkabad schools of percussion. He is one of the rare masters who has kept the art of tabla alive in its original form.

He began his training in the traditional "taleem" system of tabla instruction from his father when he was just 4 years old. He gave a 10 minute tabla solo performance from All India Radio (AIR) Hyderabad when he was 6 years old and he gave his first public performance under the auspices of Laya Sadhana in 1976. He was awarded the National Scholarship by the Government of India at the age of 20 years. At the age of 25 he joined the Government College of Music and Dance, Hyderabad and continues to be in teaching faculty today. He has been an A grade artist associated with the Hyderabad AIR since the age of 25 years.

Ustad Shabbir Nisar has accompanied most of the eminent musicians of Indian Classical music including Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Abdul Haleem Jaffer Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Munawar Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Smt. Malini Rajurkar, Smt. Laxmi Shankar, Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee, Ustad Nishad Khan, Irshad Khan, Pandit Uma Shankar Mishra etc. His tabla solo performance is a mirror onto the bygone days of the renaissance of tabla whose outstanding exponents included Ustad Siddhar Khan of Delhi, Miyan Bakhshu Khan, Ustad Modu Khan, Haji Vilayat Hussain Khan etc. His style is indicative of his constant efforts to maintain an effortless technique, an appreciation of tonal quality and exposition of rare and authentic compositions from the treasuries of the great tabla and pakhawaj masters of yesteryears. His solo performances have enraptured connoisseurs and music lovers alike wherever he has performed.

Since 1997 he has visited the United States every year. His style of teaching is to nurture tabla players who will be adept at accompanying all styles of music as well as playing tabla solo in the grand tradition of tabla. Today, he has about 100 disciples all over the world, many of whom are established professional tabla players.

Ustad Shabbir Nisar's vast repertoire of compositions from Delhi, Purab (Lucknow and Farrukhabad), Ajrada and Punjab gharanas, as well as his mastery over some difficult and rare "Gats" make him one of the foremost tabaliyas of the present time. His playing of the 'dugga', or bayan, is traditional and full of flashes of brilliance and reminiscent of his late father who was known for his expressive and powerful bayan playing.

He is the founder of 'Ustad Shaik Dawood Academy of Music' in Hyderabad, India. It is an ambitious project devoted to research, preservation and promotion of the rich tradition of tabla that he has inherited from his great legendary father Ustad Shaik Dawood.

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Sri Arun Bagal has always had a passion for music. Although he had been playing and performing all along his school and college days, his formal training started in Pune after he became an engineer. Pandit Bhaskar Chandavarkar was his first guru. His job with Kirloskar in Pune stationed him in Hamburg, Germany for three years. There Arun took lessons in Western violin mainly to learn the technique. He continued with his musical pursuits while he advanced in his career as an engineer. After spending  six years in Pune, Kirloskar transferred him to Baltimore in 1977. In the USA, Arun has had the great fortune to receive training from Padmashree Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao for the last ten years. He has given many solo performances and has accompanied eminent artists like Prabha Atre, Laxmi Shankar, Shyamla Bhave, Hridayanath Mangeshkar and Birju Maharaj. Arun is a sales engineer by profession for Cummins Power Generation products and teaches music in his spare time.