IMSOM’s 25th Anniversary Gala!

You are invited to join us as we gather to celebrate 25 years of bringing the best in Indian classical music to Minnesota!
Sunday, October 9, 2005, 2:00 pm
Coffman Memorial Union, East Bank Campus, University of Minnesota

Including a
Special Two-Part Concert,
Silent Auction, and
Formal Banquet Dinner

IMSOM regular member passes may not be used for this event.

At this event, you will also have the opportunity to purchase IMSOM's Silver Jubilee Commemorative CD Set (4 CDs)

Tickets

Concert
Sunday, October 9, 2005, 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Coffman Memorial Union Theater

Vidushi Smt. Lakshmi Shankar (Hindustani Vocal) with Pandit Ramesh Misra (Sarangi) and Sri Prithwiraj Bhattacharjee  (Tabla)	Sangeet Samrat Chitravina N. Ravikiran (Chitravina) with Kalpana Venkat (Violin) and Raja Sekhar Athmakuri (Mridangam)

About the artists:

Vidushi Smt Lakshmi Shankar is one of India's most renowned vocalists whose unique background encompasses both Carnatic and Hindustani, classical and light classical, music traditions. After performing as a Bharata Natyam dance soloist under the tutelage of guru Kandappa, she received vocal training from Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan of the Patiala Gharana. She continued studies with musicologist and singer B.R. Deodhar and Pandit Ravi Shankar, whom she assisted in most of his projects for ballets, films, fusions and festivals. The magic of her rich, melodious voice, her sense of proportion and the emotional content of her singing are some of the qualities that have made her one of the foremost and most popular vocalists in the last fifty years. She has several CDs and albums to her credit. Her recordings of Khayals, thumris, and bhajans have received acclaim in Europe, the U.S., and India. Her voice can be heard on the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi. Even today she is an active concert artist, performing in major music festivals in North America, Europe and Asia.

Pandit Ramesh Misra is one of India's outstanding instrumentalists and a master of one of the most difficult and  unique string instruments, the Sarangi. He started his initial intensive training at a very tender age from his father Pt. Ramnath Misra and acquired further knowledge and training from some of the finest musicians of the Beneras Gharana such as Pt. Hanuman  Prasad Mishra and Pt. Gopal Mishra. Presently he is under the tutelage of the legendary  Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Sankar. Ramesh's high aesthetic sense and artistic  sensibilities have brought him wide recognition both at home and abroad as an eminent  soloist as well as an adept accompanist. His music enthralls the global audience. Ramesh  has been honored with several awards including the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy  Award. In 1959, Ramesh was sent as a cultural delegate to Pakistan by the then Prime  Minister of India Jawharlal Nehru. Pandit Ramesh Misra has traveled all over the world  accompanying internationally reputed artists. In addition to his appearance in most of the major music festivals of the  world he has featured in numerous recordings including his own solos and earned a niche in  the hearts of millions of music lovers. Pandit Ramesh Misra  is a very high-ranking and gifted artist, whose music takes the audience to a divine  world, a world of pure music.

Prithwiraj Bhattacharjee (Tabla), hailing from Silchar in Assam, is a young rising star in the Hindustani music firmament. Having shown an inclination towards music from childhood, Prithwiraj began his initial training under Dhiranjan Chakraborthy at the age of seven. In 1990, he started learning from Tabla maestro Ustad Allahrakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain. Blessed with highly cultivated fingers, and absorbing all the aspects of his Guru's style through vigorous riyaaz under the ever-watchful eyes of his Guru has made him progress into a very promising upcoming Tablist. Prithwiraj has performed in many solo concerts and traveled extensively throughout India as well as abroad with many eminent artists of Hindustani classical music. Currently Prithwiraj is the Tabla faculty of Pandit Jasraj School of Music in Atlanta.

 
Sangeet Samrat Chitravina N Ravikiran:  Hailed by Radio National, Australia as 'perhaps the greatest slide player today', Ravikiran made headlines as the world’s youngest prodigy at the age of two (in 1969), identifying and demonstrating 325 ragas, 175 talas, and answering numerous other questions. He presented vocal concerts between the age of five and nine.  He switched over to the exquisite, 21-stringed chitravina when he was twelve and presented a record non-stop recital for 24 hours when he was 18.  Ravikiran has toured around the world several times and performed in major international festivals and venues such as: Autumn Festival, France, Millennium Festival, UK, Brisbane International Festival, Australia, Cal Arts Festival, USA, Harborfront Festival, Toronto, Canada, Sadler’s Wells, London, Radio France Int’l festival, House of World Culture, Berlin, Tate Modern, London and Theatre de la Ville, Paris.  He has been featured by major TV networks and record labels and won several national and international awards.  Recognized in the world music for his concept Melharmony, Ravikiran is one of the more prolific composers today with over 500 original pieces including music-dance productions such as Lakshmi Prabhavam, Savithri, Cosmos, and Vinayaka Vaibhavam.  He attributes all his successes to his gurus - Chitravina Narasimhan and T Brinda. For more info on him, please visit (www.ravikiranmusic.com)

Kalpana Venkat (Violin) is a multi-faceted personality. Widely considered one of the leading young violinists in Carnatic music today, her effortless artistry, rich tone, and true classicism have won her admirers all over the world.  A disciple of her mother, Seetha Kishore, and later Sangeeta Choodamani T Rukmini, she has learnt vocal from Padma Bhushan P S Narayanaswami.   Kalpana has also sought to innovate outside the realms of  Carnatic music.  Kalpana has accompanied several top ranking musicians including Smt. D. K. Pattammal, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Dr. N. Ramani, Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Chitravina Sri Ravikiran, Smt. Nithyasree Mahadevan, Sri Unnikrishnan, to name a few.  An A grade artiste of All India Radio, Kalpana has released cassettes and CDs of her solo and jugalbandi performances, including “Kalpana’s Swaram,”  “Sneham,”  “Singing Strings,” and “Yakshas.”  She has performed in USA, Canada, India, Middle East, Singapore, South Africa, France, Switzerland, and UK.

Raja Sekhar Athmakuri (Mridangam) hails from a family of artistes and art lovers. He came under the tutelage of Sri Pedagandham Sathyannarayana of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh at a very young age. He made his concert debut at the age of eleven and has ever since accompanied many eminent musicians on the mridangam both in India and abroad. Sekhar is a computer professional with a masters degree in Computer Science. He resides in Detroit and enjoys teaching the art of Mridangam to young aspirants.

Silent Auction
5:30 pm Coffman Memorial Union Great Hall Annex

Please note that you can pay either by check or cash. Unfortunately, we cannot accept credit cards.

Formal Banquet Dinner
7:00 pm Coffman Memorial Union Great Hall

Authentic Indian cuisine, three-course served dinner.  Vegetarian options are available, upon request.
Includes an interactive session with the artists.

IMSOM's Silver Jubilee Commemorative CD Set (4 CDs)

A set of 4 CDs, 2 each of Hindustani and Carnatic music, containing vocal and instrumental excerpts of live recordings selected from past
concerts of IMSOM. The selected tracks feature a wide spectrum of compositions drawn from various genres, in a variety of Ragas and set 
to different Talas. Among the artists featured are:

Hindustani Vocal:
Shubha Mudgal, Ashwini Bhide, Rashid Khan, Padma Talwalkar, Uday Bhawalkar, Vinayk Torvi, Rajan and Sajan  Mishra, and Ulhas Kashalkar.

Hindustani Instrumental:
Tejendra Majumdar (Sarod), Shubhendra Rao (Sitar), Shabbir Nisar (Tabla Solo), Purbayan Chatterjee (Sitar), Partho Sarothy (Sarod), Snehasish
Majumdar (Mandolin), Shishirkana Dhar Choudhary (Violin), Satish Vyas (Santoor), Ali Ahmed Hussain, and Ramesh Misra (Shehnai-Sarangi
Jugalbandi). 

Carnatic Vocal:
Hyderabad Brothers (D. Sesha Chary and D. Raghava Chary), Sanjay Subrahmanyan, S. Sowmya, Vijay Siva, T.M. Krishna, Carnatica Brothers (N. Sashikiran and P. Ganesh)

Carnatic Instrumental:
Lalgudi G. Jayaraman (Violin), Dr. N. Ramani (Flute), Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan (Violin), Ganesh (Violin), Shashank (Flute), N. Ravikiran (Chitravina), Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi (Violin)

Tickets

IMSOM regular member passes may not be used for this event.

Purchase advance tickets online

Directions and parking:

300 Washington Ave. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
The venues are all in the Coffman Memorial Union in the East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota. Parking is available in the East River Road Garage. Click here for directions to the Coffman Memorial Union.

For further information contact: