Pandit Nayan Ghosh is acclaimed in India and around the world as one of India’s foremost musicians, with an unusual dimension – the only maestro with superlative command on two diverse instruments the Sitar and the Tabla.  Pandit  Ghosh is held as an important reference source for a whole new generation of music seekers.  Son and disciple of the 20^th century Tabla wizard Nikhil Ghosh and nephew of Pannalal Ghosh, “the Father of Indian Classical Flute”, Nayan has inherited the rich and learned legacy and carries it with dignity and grace.  Artistic brilliance, rich repertoire and a magnificence of tone are his hallmarks. His sitar recitals sparkle with intense melodiousness and rich delineations, bringing out the depth and the true spirit of the raga. His judicious balance of the gayaki (vocalization) and the tantrakari (instrumentation) elements reveal his unswerving focus on musical form and beauty. His formidable tabla solos drawn from an enviable repertoire of the Farukhabad, Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow and Punjab schools and his eloquent and mesmerising accompaniments have won him a strong stamp of recognition as a blue-blooded tabla player.  Nayan broadcast his first solo at the age of 4 in 1960 and, since the age of 18, has represented India at some of the most prestigious International Music Festivals and Universities across Europe, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, North Africa and the Far East. A 1998 recipient of the Achievement Award from the Governor of California, Gray Davis in Los Angeles, Nayan has shared the stage with such legends as Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan and Nikhil Banerjee, besides a whole galaxy of stars like Shivkumar Sharma, Amjad Ali Khan, Rais Khan, Shamim Ahmed, Salamat Ali Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Sharan Rani, Rajeev Taranath and L. Subramaniam among others. Like his father who interacted with the Kings of Jazz - Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck, Nayan too jammed with avant-garde pianist Yosuke Yamashita and guitarist Kazumi Watanabe in Tokyo and Kidd Jordan and Henry Butler in New Orleans. Nayan Ghosh has to his credit several CD albums on noted international labels besides collaboration with acknowledged world musicians like Paul Grant, John Bailey and Ross Daly. Presently, as Director of India’s leading music academy, the SANGIT MAHABHARATI in Juhu, Mumbai, Nayan is actively imparting advanced training to numerous young professional musicians, besides supporting his father’s monumental work, the ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MUSIC IN INDIA which is soon to be published by the Oxford University Press, worldwide.

Arup Chattopadhyay is recognized today as one of the most outstanding and sought after Tabla artists of the younger generation. As a premier disciple of the world-renowned maestro Pandit Shankar Ghosh of the Farukkhabad Gharana (stylistic tradition) of Tabla, Arup has established himself both as an topnotch accompanist and a formidable soloist. Arup started his initial training in tabla at the age of six from his father, the eminent Tabla player, Shri Pankaj Chatterjee and later came under the tutelage of Pandit Shankar Ghosh with whom he continues to train. An affiliated tabla artist with the All India Radio and Doordarshan Televison, Arup records and performs frequently for the Indian broadcasting network. He regularly accompanies some of the leading musicians of India such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Ashish Khan, Manas Chakravarty, Arun Bhadhuri, Ajay Chakravarty, and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Arup has toured the U.K. representing highly acclaimed performances and demonstrations with Deepak Choudhury. Most recently, he has toured extensively with sitarist Kartik Seshadri in performances throughout the United States and Canada. Arup also serves as a visiting guest lecturer of Tabla at the University of California, San Diego.

Acknowledgments:

This activity is made possible in part by, the Series Presenter Support Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Honeywell “Dollars for Doers” Grant and the Medtronic Arts Access Program Grant. This concert is co-sponsored by KFAI “Fresh-Air” Radio (90.3FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul).