Yollay - World Music Festival Chicago — Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music

Josh Feinberg
Music
Known and loved by top musicians and music lovers, Josh Feinberg represents the future of sitar in the 21st century, and the growing diversity of the Hindustani music field. Widely regarded as a leading sitarist of his generation, and a torchbearer for the Maihar Gharana, Josh has a fresh approach to sitar with something unique to say. Josh began his musical training at 4 years old with western classical and jazz on piano and bass in New York City, studying with some of the most accomplished musicians on the scene. He was hailed as a prodigy performing in jazz venues and concert halls across the New York area including Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, and many others. In his teens, Josh became enamoured with the music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, and shifted his focus to sitar and Hindustani music. Josh is a student of the Maihar Gharana (school of playing) and has established himself as a leading sitarist of his generation and is making a name for himself with connoisseurs of Hindustani music, as well art music communities around the world. One of the first non-Indian musicians to be accepted as a leading performer, Josh has learned with sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan as well as Ust. Aashish Khan, Sri Alam Khan, Pt. Tejendra Majumdar, Dr. Peter Row, Dr. George Ruckert, Sri James Pomerantz, Sri Warren Senders and Smt. Vijaya Sundaram. Josh recorded his debut album, Homage, featuring tabla maestro Swapan Chaudhuri and released his second album, One Evening in Spring, in November 2014 featuring tabla maestro Anindo Chatterjee. Josh was a featured performer in the 2016 Chicago World Music Festival joined with Pt. Anindo Chatterjee. Josh's new album with Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, A Fallen Blossom in the Thorns was released in early 2017. Josh has also accompanied Sri Alam Khan, the son of Ust. Ali Akbar Khan, in the US and India at prestigious venues such as the Saptak Festival in Ahmedabad, and the Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata. (Saptak and Dover Lane are two of the biggest Hindustani music festivals in the world with thousands of people in attendance.) Josh also accompanied Alam-ji for a for a national broadcast for Doordarshan, one of the largest TV networks in India. Josh has performed as a soloist all over the world organizations including the Chicago World Music Festival, Durham University in the UK, Purdue University, Chowdhury House Music Conference in Kolkata, the Rahimat Khan Music Festival in Dharwad, Basant Bahar in San Francisco, The Music Circle in LA, Ragamala in Seattle, Kalakendra in Portland, Chhandayan in New York City, Harvard University, ITCSRA in Kolkata, SPICMACAY in Delhi, Sangit Mahabharati in Mumbai, Ragamala Toronto, Chhandayan NYC, and the Ravi Shankar Institute for Music and Performing Arts. Josh's concerts have been very well received, garnering rave reviews, especially in Kolkata and Pune. He has been hailed as the torchbearer for the Pt. Nikhil Banerjee baj of the Maihar Gharana. In 2013, Josh published a sitar method book for the Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest music publisher. Josh has performed throughout the US, Canada, India and Europe and has also collaborated with artists such as Alam Khan, Savion Glover, Richie Barshay (Herbie Hancock), Patrick Lamb, Gideon Freudmann (with music featured on the Showtime drama Weeds), David Ornette Cherry (Don Cherry), and many others. Josh has a Bachelors in Music from New England Conservatory, and a Masters of Fine Arts from Goddard College. Josh currently teaches at Lewis and Clark College, and Reed College in Portland, and has offered courses at the University of Oregon.

Kunal gunjal
Music
Kunal Gunjal, is a young and promising Santoor Artiste of the young generation. Having a musical background from his father, Shri.Ulhas Gunjal, Kunal started learning Santoor under the guidance of Internationally renowned Santoor Exponent, Pt.Shivkumar Sharma. Kunal has been learning under the guidance of Pt.Shivkumar Sharma for the past 8 years.

Amit Kavthekar
Music
Young and talented Amit Kavthekar (GANDA-BANDH SHAGIRD of Late Ustad Allarakha) has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, when most the children of his age were playing about, he was being groomed in the art of tabla playing by Maestro Ustad Allarakha.Since 1991, he was fortunate to be taught tabla intricacies by Ustad Zakir Hussain, a master maestro in Tabla with an unbelievable number of fans all over the world and, of course, in India. He played with many Legends such as.- Ustad Zakir Hussain and Sivamani on Zee Tv in India, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in his Documentary directed by Jabbar Patel in India, He has Accompaniment Pt. Jasraj I his Vocal recital in Pune India, Ustad Shahid Parvez at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA, Ustad Ashish Khan at Learnquest Festival at Regis College MA, Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta in Bithak, Boston MA, with Pt. Kushal Das at MIT Cambridge, MA Presently Amit is teaching Tabla in American School of Bombay (ASB) and in New England School of Music which is based in Boston MA area. Presently he is working as a professor in Salem State University for the World Music Esemble.

Jay Gandhi
Music
A truly outstanding disciple of the world renowned bansuri maestro, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Jay initially trained in vocal music under Smt. Kum Kum Sanyal and later bansuri under Pt. Ronu Majumdar, Pt. Vijay Raghav Rao and Pt. Raghunath Seth. Inspired to gain deeper knowledge of both the gayaki ang (vocal style) as well as the tantrakari ang (stringed instrument style), Jay has also taken guidance from Pt Vidyadhar Vyas (vocal) and Pt. Nayan Ghosh (sitar, tabla). He is truly blessed to have been studying under the living legend of the bansuri, Padma Vibhushan Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, at Brindavan Gurukul in Mumbai since 2006. His musical pursuits are not limited to that of the Indian sub-continent; he has great love for the music of the African diaspora and America's classical music Jazz, as well. In 2004, he completed an Individual Major in Jazz Performance at Oberlin College/Conservatory of Music (Ohio), studying privately under such Jazz luminaries as the saxophonist Gary Bartz and trumpetist Marcus Belgrave. He has since collaborated extensively with many noted Jazz musicians including composer/Jazz pianist Courtney Bryan and trumpetist Lech Wierzynski. A recipient of the prestigious American Institute of Indian Studies Senior Performing Arts Fellowship, Jay has already been invited to perform across the globe, enthralling audiences in India, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. He is currently based out of New York City and is very active as both a teacher and performer and also as a founding member of Brooklyn Raga Massive, an increasingly prominent Indian Classical artists collective.

Nitin Mitta
Music
Nitin Mitta is one of the most accomplished and distinctive tabla players of his generation, with a reputation for technical virtuosity, spontaneity, clarity of tone, and sensitivity to melodic nuances. Apart from being a dynamic soloist, he is a highly sought after accompanist who has performed with some of Indias most celebrated Hindustani classical musicians, including Pandit Jasraj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Ustad Shahid Parvez, as well as many Carnatic musicians, such as Lalgudi G.J.R Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. Nitin has also made a mark as a versatile collaborator in other spheres. He recently joined forces with 2010 Grammy Nominee Pianist Vijay Iyer and electric guitarist R. Prasanna to produce a studio album titled Tirtha that blends elements of contemporary jazz with the North and South Indian traditional ragas and compositions. Another collaboration with R. Prasanna can be heard on the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning documentary Smile Pinky. He has also performed and toured with singer and Juno Award nominee Kiran Ahluwalia. Born in Hyderabad in 1975, Nitin received his early training in Hyderabad from Pandit G. Satyanarayana. Blessed with raw talent, he gave his first solo tabla performance at the age of ten. During his studies he won many accolades, including first prize in the All India Competition held in Calcutta. To expand his repertoire of tabla compositions, he sought the guidance of Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar of Mumbai, one of the most highly respected mentors of his generation. Under Mulgaonkarjis tutelage, Nitin not only broadened his tabla vocabulary, but sharpened his understanding of how to bring the material to life in performances through interpretation, improvisation and respect for the dynamics between instrumentalist and rhythmic accompanist. Both of Nitins gurus are disciples of the late Ustad Amir Hussain Khan Saheb, legendary doyen of the Farukhabad Gharana. After moving to the United States in 2002, Nitin received a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on Arts. He was a member of the faculty at the Learn Quest Academy of Music in Waltham, MA. He maintains a busy schedule of performances and tabla workshops, traveling throughout the U.S, Europe, Canada and India. He has performed at several prominent venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Weill recital Hall/Carnegie Hall, the UCLA Royce Hall, the Indian consulate in New York, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C, the Music Academy in Chennai, and the Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Prasanna
Music
Prasanna is the quintessential Indian Renaissance man. A pioneer in performing Carnatic music on the guitar, an engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, a composer for award winning films, an internationally acclaimed guitarist in contemporary Jazz, Rock and Blues, a Magna-Cum-Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music, and an entrepreneurial visionary who established a world class music college that blends the Indian Gurukula system of learning with contemporary western college education pedagogy. Prasanna was voted among the top 50 creative Indians by Open Magazine in 2010 alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Amir Khan, Viswanathan Anand, Arundati Roy and others. Prasanna (Smile Pinki) also belongs to a select group of Indian composers along with Pandit Ravi Shankar (Gandhi) and A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) who have composed music for Oscar Winning films. A fearless innovator in contemporary music and yet steeped in the authentic Carnatic tradition with 6 years of study with guru Vocalist Tiruvarur Balasubramaniam and 26 years of study with masterful violinist guru A. Kanyakumari, Prasanna has been the first point of exposure to the possibilities of Carnatic music for thousands of listeners and musicians from the around the world. He was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award for Carnatic music by H.H. Sri Jayendra Saraswathi in 2006. He is deeply devoted to spreading the gospel of Carnatic music on the guitar and is passionately educating young children from all over the world in this beautiful art form. Prasannas prolific body of work include 16 albums as leader, a concert DVD and an Instructional DVD and numerous concerts at major festivals with some of the worlds most acclaimed artists across every genre of contemporary music. He has performed with Airto Moreira, A.R. Rahman, Jordan Rudess, Esperanza Spalding, Joe lovano, Illayaraja, Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Victor Wooten, Dweezil Zappa, Alex Acuna, Dave Douglas, Omar Hakim, Larry Coryell, T.K. Murthy, Anthony Jackson, Howard Levy, Trilok Gurtu and others. He is a member of three groundbreaking bands Raga Metal Conversations with Alex Skolnick and Anton Fig, Ragabop trio with Steve Smith and George Brooks and Tirtha with Vijay Iyer and Nitin Mitta. Prasannas composition Falsehood is featured in the Book Essentials of Jazz the first 100 years by Henry Martin and Keith Waters alongside the works of some of the most influential composers in Jazz History. Prasanna was also a winner in the 2014 International Songwriting Contest in Jazz for his composition Springtime in New York. Prasannas film scores include Megan Mylans Academy Award winning documentary Smile Pinki and Sundance Festival film After the Garden Grows, Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning Tamil film Vazhakku Enn 18/9, Ian McDonalds multi-award winning sports documentary Algorithms, Chetan Shahs English feature film Framed and many more. His creative collaboration with A.R. Rahman includes guitar performances in the Score and Soundtrack of Dreamworks A Hundred Foot Journey, Disneys Million Dollar Arm alongside numerous Indian films like Puthiya Mugam, Jeans, Swades, Highway and others. Prasanna also is credited with arranging and conducting the string orchestra for the title score of the 2002 Oscar nominated Bollywood Film Lagaan . Prasanna also collaborated with A.R. Rahman on his MTV Coke Studio project which is also released on CD and DVD worldwide by Sony Music. Prasanna is a highly regarded educator and has given lectures, talks, workshops and residencies at MITs Sloan School of Management, Banff Center for the Arts, Berklee College of Music, Harvard University, Osnabruck Institute of Music etc. He has also taught such accomplished musicians as Dweezil Zappa, Dave Fiuczynski, Marc Rossi, Mauricio Zottarelli, Gustavo Assis Brasil and many others. Prasannas passion for music education led him to establish one of the largest colleges of music in South Asia Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) in 2009 with funding and infrastructure support from Marg Group of Companies. Prasanna served as President of the college for close to 5 years before moving on to pursue other avenues. He currently lives in New York City. Prasanna is affiliated with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) as a writer and publisher, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) as a member and as a Voting member of the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammy Awards every year.

Bala Skandan
Music
Bala Skandan is a performer, educator and composer of Carnatic music. He performs both on the Mridangam (double-headed drum) and violin (Carnatic style). He also highlights the beauty of Kanjira (frame drum) and konnakkol (vocal rhythm) in his compositions as well as in performances. He is the lead artist and composer of Akshara Music Ensemble, a NY based Indian-classical music inspired band. Bala Skandan lives in Manhattan and teaches actively. Bala Skandan started his music training at the age of 6 in both Mridangam and Violin; He received training from the legends of Carnatic music Guru Karaikudi Mani on Mridangam and Vidushi T Rukmini on Violin. Noted for his superb musical accompaniment by the NY Times, Bala Skandan has accompanied established international musicians and dancers and has performed in prestigious venues in Chennai, Europe and North America throughout his musical career. He is the lead musician and composer for Akshara, an Indian percussion ensemble based in NY. In 2007/08 Balaskandan had the distinction of teaching and conducting the first Carnatic student recital at the prestigious Juilliard School of music.

Ambi Subramaniam
Music
GiMAs (Global Indian Music Award for Best Fusion Album and Best Carnatic Instrumental Album) and Big Indian Music Award (for Best Carnatic Album). Hailed as "the new king of Indian classical violin" (The Times of India), Ambi regularly plays duet violin concerts with Dr. L. Subramaniam and solo concerts. He has performed at the prestigious Dussehra Festival at the Mysore Palace, the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Chicago, the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Maximum India Festival at Kennedy, the Royal Opera House, Muscat, and at the Centenary Celebration of the Banglaore Gayana Samaj. Ambi was a featured soloist for the Sounds of India program featuring talented instrumentalists from around the country. Ambi has been invited to perform at TEDx events to expose new audiences to Carnatic music, and at age 13 was invited to present a concert for the then President of India HE APJ Abdul Kalam for the Pravasi Bharitiya Divas. He has performed with Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia.

Roopa Mahadevan
Music
Roopa Mahadevan is a versatile Indian Classical vocalist. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Roopa underwent her major formative training in Carnatic vocal music under Asha Ramesh, disciple of the late Sangeetha Kalanidhi D.K. Jayaraman and Sri Nanganallur Ramanathan. In 2007, Roopa was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State to receive advanced Carnatic vocal training in Chennai, India under Smt. Suguna Varadachari, a senior guru of the Musiri Subramania Iyer tradition. Roopa has been a regular performer of Carnatic vocal concerts in the U.S. and India. She has been performing in all of the major sabhas in Chennai, India during the December music season, including the prestigious Music Academy. She has received praise from the Carnatic music fraternity and notable press, including The Hindu. She has also performed at the well-known Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, which gave her the title Kala Ratna for her commitment to the pursuit of Carnatic music as a young American. Roopa is also an accomplished Bharathanatyam dancer who has performed her arangetram under the training of the Smt. Indumathy Ganesh, disciple of Padmashri Smt. Chitra Visweswaran. Roopa is a sought-after singer for Bharathanatyam productions and has sung for a variety of artists, including C.V. Chandrasekhar, Bragha Bessel, Mythili Prakash, Rasika Kumar, Preeti Vasudevan, Vidhya Subramaniam, Janaki Rangarajan, Aparna Ramaswamy, Abhinaya Dance Company, Ragamala Dance Company, and Shakti Dance Company (CA) among several others. Roopa also enjoys performing R&B/soul music and has lent her voice to several contemporary art projects, including two urban/R&B music albums Lovespeak (with Everyday People A Capella), Bring Back the Nyte, and the album *Calling All Dawns* composed by Christopher Tin, which won the 2011 Grammy for Best Crossover Classical Album. In 2011, Roopa performed an exciting acting and singing role in Bakwas Bumbug, a first-ever Desi Musical directed by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri and produced by Desipina in New York City. Roopa has been fortunate to perform at prestigious venues, including the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Roopa is the artistic director of the NYC-based Navatman Music Collective, an Indian Classical Vocal ensemble, conceived by Navatman founder Sahi Sambamoorthy. Roopa was an inaugural 2013 fellow of IndianRaga and is a frequent instructor for the IndianRaga Labs program. Roopa received her Bachelors degree in Biology and Masters degree in Cognitive Science from Stanford University. She is based in New York City, where she enjoys a mission-driven career in public health policy while pursuing her artistic passions with equal vigor.

Rajna Swaminathan
Music
Rajna Swaminathanis an accomplished mrudangam (South Indian percussion) artist, a protg of mrudangam maestroUmayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Rajna is one of only a handful of women who play the mrudangam professionally. She has performed with several renowned Indian classical musicians, most notably mentor and vocalist T.M. Krishna. Rajna has performed in several prestigious venues and festivals, including the Smithsonian (D.C.), Kennedy Center (D.C.), Asia Society (NYC), Lincoln Center (NYC), Walker Art Center (MN), Music Academy (Chennai), Shanmukhananda Hall (Mumbai) and The Esplanade (Singapore). Rajna also regularly gives workshops on the South Indian rhythmic perspective, most notably at the Banff International Jazz and Creative Music Workshop, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and the KOSA International Percussion Camp.Rajna holds degrees in Anthropology and French from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently pursuing a PhD in cross-disciplinary music studies at Harvard University.

Arun Ramamurthy
Music
Arun Ramamurthy is a versatile violinist, composer and educator based in NYC. A disciple of the celebrated Carnatic violinist brothers, Dr. Mysore Manjunath & Sri Mysore Nagaraj, Arun has become one of the countrys leading Indian Classical and crossover musicians. Growing up in New Jersey, he trained in both Indian and Western classical styles. He has carved a niche for himself as a multifaceted artist, performing internationally in both traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings as well as bridging genres with his own innovative projects. Arun has been fortunate to perform with esteemed artists such as Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Sudha Ragunathan, Anindo Chatterjee, T.N. Seshagopoloan, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Marc Cary, Awa Sangho among others. He leads the Arun Ramamurthy Trio, an ensemble that brings a fresh approach to age-old South Indian classical repertoire and raga inspired originals. Praised by All About Jazz as a beautiful, exotic, ear-opening listening experience the Trios debut album Jazz Carnatica was picked by NPRs New Sounds as a Top New Release. As a composer, Arun has created new works for his Trio, for various Indian classical dance performances, and for the pioneering musician's collective Brooklyn Raga Massive. Recently, Arun was commissioned through New Music USA to compose original music for Malini Srinivasan's 'Appeasing Radhika', an ambitious project investigating Devadasi lives in Indian Classical performing arts. Arun is a co-founder and Artistic Director of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a collective of forward thinking musicians rooted-in and inspired-by the classical music of India. He created the concert series Carnatic Sundays at Cornelia Street Caf, an iconic jazz venue in New Yorks West Village. As an educator, Arun teaches students ranging from beginners to professional musicians in Indian music performance, technique and theory. He has taught workshops on Indian classical music at music schools, universities, conservatories and summer music programs.

Samarth Nagarkar
Music
Described by critics as one of the most prolific and promising young artistes of today, Samarth Nagarkar is a Hindustani (North Indian) classical vocalist, known for his captivating performances and a traditionally rich approach towards raagdaari (raga exposition) and gayaki (stylistic distinction). Trained under Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Pandit Dinkar Kaikini, he is a former scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata. Pursuing a full-fledged music career as a performer, composer, teacher and author, Samarth currently divides his time between the US (New York) and India.

Amit Kavthekar
Music
Young and talented Amit Kavthekar (GANDA-BANDH SHAGIRD of Late Ustad Allarakha) has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, when most the children of his age were playing about, he was being groomed in the art of tabla playing by Maestro Ustad Allarakha.Since 1991, he was fortunate to be taught tabla intricacies by Ustad Zakir Hussain, a master maestro in Tabla with an unbelievable number of fans all over the world and, of course, in India. He played with many Legends such as.- Ustad Zakir Hussain and Sivamani on Zee Tv in India, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in his Documentary directed by Jabbar Patel in India, He has Accompaniment Pt. Jasraj I his Vocal recital in Pune India, Ustad Shahid Parvez at Berklee College of Music, Boston MA, Ustad Ashish Khan at Learnquest Festival at Regis College MA, Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta in Bithak, Boston MA, with Pt. Kushal Das at MIT Cambridge, MA Presently Amit is teaching Tabla in American School of Bombay (ASB) and in New England School of Music which is based in Boston MA area. Presently he is working as a professor in Salem State University for the World Music Esemble.

GS RAJAN
Music
GS RAJAN had his early training in vocal music and Carnatic flute under his mother and father respectively. Rajan's serious interest in classical music led himto Kalakshetra, Madras, in 1978. Here he had the good fortune not only of coming under the personal guidance of the inspiring founder-director, Rukmini Devi Arundale, but also of studying vocal music under the acclaimed masters MD Ramanathan and Pudukode Krishnamurthi and flute under H Ramachandra Sastri, one of the last representatives of the Sarabha Sastri baani.

Ganapathi Ranganathan
Music
Ganapathi (Gana) Ranganathan is a talented, accomplished and dedicated artiste performing Mridangam for over 15 years now. Ganapathi has a natural feel and knack for rhythm that makes him versatile - he handles many percussion instruments like Tabla and Kanjira with ease. Gana received tranining in percussion from Gurus like T N Shashikumar, Vasudeva Rao and T A S Mani from Bangalore, India. He is presently consulting with Vidwan Patri Sathish Kumar. Gana has won several awards and distinctions and has performed at prestigious venues in India and US. Gana plans to continue expanding his repertoire through cultural exchanges and performances. He performs for all the community musical events and Arangetrams. Gana is training kids and adults alike in basic and advanced percussions - Mridangam, Tabla and Khanjira lessons in Irving, TX, in his unique style.

World Music Festival Chicago — Ragamala: A Celebration of Indian Classical Music

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