Society for Indian Classical Arts, a student club at the University of Victoria, brings classical Indian music to campus this week.
An Indian (Hindustani) Classical Vocal Music Concert features singer Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar accompanied by Milind Kulkarni on harmonium and Ajinkya Joshi on tabla.
The Indian National award-winner Abhyankar is an exponent from Mewati Gharana and a disciple of Pandit Jasraj. Abhyankar toured extensively worldwide and produced more than 60 solo albums.
Abhyankar is an artist of international acclaim in the field of Hindustani classical music. In a career spanning more than 25 years, he has assumed the mantle of a role model of dedication, hard work, patience and perseverance. He started learning Hindustani classical music at the age of eight. In 1981, the 11-year-old prodigy rendered his first stage performance in Mumbai. Since then, he has travelled extensively all over the country.
As a composer, he has several classical and devotional compositions to his credit. He has received many awards including the President’s Award from All India Radio, the coveted National Award as the best male playback singer, for the Hindi film Godmother, and the prestigious Kumar Gandharv National Award.
Kulkarni has carved himself a place on harmonium in the music world and captured the hearts of the listeners. His father, an avid music lover, recognized the inborn talent and opened the world of music at a very young age. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music, specializing in harmonium, at the Centre for Performing Arts at Pune University, and has accompanied distinguished musicians of India. He is a regular performer of All India Radio & Doordarshan (TV) network.
Joshi is an established tabla player of the young generation. He started his initial training at the age of seven. Exceptionally sweet tonal quality, an astonishingly perfect balance between daaya and baaya (left and right hand movement), clarity of compositions in Tabla-Solo and the precise vajan (weight) of his strokes are some highlights of his playing.
The trio will perform the rich musical tradition of North Indian classical music in the David Lam Auditorium, MacLaurin Building at UVic on May 15 at 7 p.m. Tickets $20/$15, are available at Munro’s books, Long and McQuade and at the door. Call Sri/Sudhakar at 250-721-2672 to reserve or for more information.
cvanreeuwyk@oakbaynews.com
