Ensemble Artists

 

Sandeep Das

Nominated for the The Grammy Award, Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla players in the world. Sandeep has now carved out a niche for himself throughout the musical world.

One of the favorite disciples of the legendary Pt.Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, his concert tours have taken him to major centers of music on all continents including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce hall, the Royal Albert Hall, The Concertgebouw, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and the Petronas Tower Hall in Malaysia to name a few.

Sandeep performed at the UNO headquarters in New York for the UN day celebrations in 2008. He has played at the BBC PROMS in 2004 and 2009 at the Royal Albert Hall.

He is the only Indian artist to have performed for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics in Shanghai.

He has cut discs for more than 30 labels including Virgin, Sony and Makar Records, Music Today, Magnasound, T-Series etc.. In 2005 his recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. Das’ Interview on the BBC’s “Destination Music” is widely broadcast in Europe today.

His music has currently been presented to the people in USA as a downloadable ring tone for cell phones, by SONY and iTunes.

Sandeep Das went to school at St. Xavier’s Patna and then did his intermediate from Patna College, Patna University. Further education took him to Banaras Hindu University and he is a Gold Medalist in English Literature.

At the age of sixteen he had already performed with Ravi Shankar and subsequently with all the stars of Indian music. He was three times the all India drumming champion and was the youngest drummer ever to be graded by All-India radio.

“A very impressive resume for someone that young” as mentioned by BBC in their interview.

This successful intertwining of Music and Education brings forward an immediate connect with his audience world wide!!!

Some of his many achievements are listed below:

• Grammy Nomination in 2005
• Most valuable musician award by the President of India,2005
• His composition available as ring tone for cell phones in the USA, by   iTunes and sony
• Composition “Mohini” used as theme music by NHK (Japan’s no.1 channel) for 10 episodes on the Silk Road.
• Composition “Tarang” used as theme music for film made on first ever Everest climb by Blind Climbers called “Blindsight”
• Performed at Hollywood Bowl  in front of a 85 thousand full house
• Performed his piece “Tarang” at the world famous music fest BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.
• Performed at the “Concertgebouw” (Oldest in the world thus extremely prestigious) theater in Amsterdam.
• Performs regularly at world famous Carnegie hall and Lincoln centre in New York
• Performs at Kennedy centre Washington DC
• Performs with Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Debu Choudhury, Smt. Shubha Mudgal, Dr.L.Subramaniam / Kavita Krishnamurty, Ustad Shujaat Khan to name a few regularly
• Performs with Yo Yo Ma, (17 Grammy winner), the no 1 cello player in the world
• Has performed with members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, The Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Performed for many visiting country heads including Queen Elizabeth and Queen of Thailand
• Invited for residencies at Rhodes Island School of design, UCLA, Stanford, Chicago Musuem of Art to name a few)
• Only Indian to perform at the opening of the Special Olympics at Shanghai, China
• Awarded Significant Achievement Award by St. Xavier’s High School(First Xavier’s in the country)
• Awarded “Patna college Blue” by Patna College
• Awarded “Chatra vibhusan” by Banaras Hindu University

 

Rajesh Prasanna

 

Rajesh Prasanna is the latest young signature in the realm of flute playing in the country. Born & hailing from a renowned family of musicians of Varanasi who have traditionally played & nurtured the shehnai for over two & half centuries, he has taken to music by inheritance.

He is the son of Pandit Rajendra Prasanna who is one of the great flute & shehnai player of the country.  It was however under the tutelage of his father Pt. Rajendra Prasanna, he learnt the finer skills and artistic intricacies as also the advanced techniques that helped him blossom as concert player of great merit.

 

Major Concerts :-

Rajesh participated at the prestigious ‘Tansen Samaroh’ (Gwalior),  50^th SwamiHaridas Sangeet Sammelan (Mumbai), Swarjagar Festival (Nagpur), Sankat-Mochan & Ganga-MahotsavShree Mataji Nirmala Devi’, Yuva Mahotsav organized by Sahitya Kala Parishad (Delhi), Pt. Raghunath Prasanna Smriti Sangeet Samaroh, Gharana Utsav, Pt. Vishnu Prasanna Smriti Sangeet Samaroh, Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan Smriti Sangeet Samaroh, Saptak Festival, (Ahmedabad), ITC sangeet Samellan ( Kanpur), Arpan Festival (Delhi) and Delhi International Art festival, Doverlane Music festival (Kolkata). festival (Varanasi), played for

Abroad :-

 

Rajesh has toured U.K. with Amaan & Ayaan Ali Khan and Grammy Award winner Evelyn Glennie for concert at Rythm Stick festival at Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) & WOMAD Festival (Reading).He also visited Philippines under the auspices of ICCR with his father Pt .Rajendra Prasanna. He has also participated at International Folk Music Festival (Ethno) in Sweden.

 

Suchet Malhotra

 

 

Suchet plays instruments from the world’s rhythm cultures–the tabla from India, darbouka & framedrums from Egypt, the Kurdish def, djembes from Ghana & Gambia, the Peruvian cajon, bongos from Cuba, the Congolese ududrum and the aboriginal yidaki/didgeridoo from Australia. With a diverse collection of native and ambient instruments at hand, this repertoire covers the inhabited continents and continues to grow.

EARLY YEARS

Suchet started learning the tabla while in school at Chandigarh. He moved to Delhi in 1991 and trained for the next eight years with Ustad Chhamma Khan in the tradition of the Dilli gharana. When given a darbouka, Suchet—unfamiliar with the traditional playing style—began to apply what he had learnt on the tabla to the classical drum of Egypt. With some adjustments in playing technique (the bass is played by the right hand in darbouka, left in tabla), the result was close to what a traditional player might achieve; there were even some advantages emanating from the dexterity tabla-playing provides. Work with the djembe followed, then the didgeridoo. After spending time in Australia learning both making & playing the instrument, Suchet returned to India, where, under the guidance of Pandit Kishen Maharaj, he developed a playing style for didgeridoo based on tabla thought & expression.

Today, he is a percussionist playing a wide variety of traditional instruments and contemporary styles. He is based out of New Delhi, India.

PERFORMANCE

As a soloist, Suchet performs Stories through Sound, a showcase of world percussion, native and ambient instruments.

As a percussionist, he plays latin-jazz with the Wanny Angerer Quartet, oriental fusion with Mystique, world music with Sristhi, and groove-pop with electro-acoustic outfit Da-Saz.

He performs with artistes covering a wide spectrum of genres, from chamber music (Chamber Soloists Lucerne, Switzerland) to Folk (Ethno Sweden) and Electronic music (David Scrufari/Da-Saz). He composes music for contemporary dance & theatre, is a sessions artist on demand and creates soundscapes for documentaries & animation films.

DISCOGRAPHY

2009…WANNY ANGERER LATIN JAZZ QUARTET…Bolero Namaskar
Hindustani and latin-American music mix in a heady cocktail of fusion—bansuri & percussion, tabla & piano, voices from both cultures.

2008……………DA-SAZ……………………Jet Lag
A stunning mélange of acoustic and electronic music with vocals in the four Indic languages of the Sufis.

2007……………DRUM DIMENSION…….First Master
Gonga Sain and Mithu Sain from Pakistan on dhols and Suchet on didgeridoo and Iranian def—a trance-inducing drum journey.

2004……………MYSTIQUE………………Melodies of the Orient
Instrumental oriental jazz music with eight different musicians.

 

Ahsaan Ali

Born in a traditional musical background of Kirana Gharana, Music was in his blood. Ahsan is an upcoming talent on the sarangi.

Ahsan began his training from his father & his Guru Ustad Asif Ali Khan a renowned Sarangi Maestro.

Ahsan has  participated in several prestigious events and festivals such as Shankar lal festival, Khajurao festival, Tansen festival, Basant festival, Taj Mohatsav, Qutub festival, Jahan-e-Khusro, Mirza Galib, Hrbhallab festival, Haridas Sammelan, among others.

Ahsan has been accompanying many world renowned vocalists and singers including Ustad Rashid Khan, Abida Parveen, Ahmad Hussain Mohammad Hussain, Talat Azeez, Penaz Masani, Suresh Vadekar, and many more.

Ahsan has accompanied the legends of INDIA like Pt, Birju Maharaj Pt, Kishan Maharaj, Sitara Devi ji

Ahsan has been playing sarangi with instruments players like famous Sarod Brother Amaan Ali Khan & Ayaan Ali Khan, Sandeep Das and many more.

Ahsan also plays Guitar to perfection. He has learnt Guitar from Guru Ratan Prasanna.

 

Indrajit Dey

Indrajit Dey  is a leading Key Board player and composer fro Kolkata. Trained in both Indian and Western Classical music he has been very successful in creating a niche for himself.

He plays regularly with a Top Band of that city called ” Fossills “.

Indrajit Dey has also co-composed with Sandeep Das for the world famous Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

Indrajit has been composing for music tracks for various movies and video tracks for television also.

Indrajit’s forte being his comfort level in both Western and Indian Classical music.

Indrajit is in very high demand in India and has also travelled to Europe for many concerts.

Lavanya Sundaram

Lavanya is a formally trained artiste in the classical traditions of Bharat Natyam and Carnatic/Hindustani music in addition to being a devoted performer of Bhajans, Bhavgeets and Abhangs. She is also a graded artist of Doordarshan and All India Radio. She hails from a family of musicians.

Hailing from India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, Lavanya was initiated into Carnatic vocal music by her grandmother late Smt. K.Rajam at the tender age of 4  and continued with her training from her maternal uncle Shri.R. Seshasai. It was Shri Raman Shankar who inspired Lavanya and trained her in Hindustani Classical music as well as Abhangs. Lavanya was groomed into an accomplished dancer by iconic Guru, Smt Rajee Narayan (Mumbai) under whom she took lessons in Bharata Natyam for over 20years.

After moving to Delhi in the year 2001, Lavanya continues to take her vocal training from Prof. Arun Kumar Chatterjee and Shri Sarathi Chatterjee in Hindustani Music and from the legendry Padmashree Guru Kanaka Srinivasan in the Vazhuvoor style of Bharatha Natyam.

She has performed in various music conferences in Delhi and has given innumerable performances in prestigious venues like The Shanmukhananda Sabha ,The Chembur Fine Arts Society,The Mulund Fine Arts, The National Centre for Performing Arts(NCPA) and the Nehru Centre in Mumbai and also at The Chinmaya Mission Delhi. She has also been invited may a times to present The Impact of Music on the Elderly by The Alziemer,s Society.

She has also lent her voice to a number of Bhajan Albums.