Utsav 2008 Featured Artists

Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar is one of the greatest tabla exponents of the present times. As an accomplished artist and as a Guru, he has contributed immensely to the glorious tradition of Indian Classical Music, particularly in the field of percussion.

Sureshji introduced for the first time the novel concept of using vocal accompaniment for solo tabla and added a new dimension and direction to the solo playing of tabla. As a guru, his expertise and teaching abilities are unmatched. Today, amongst the best tabla players of the newer generation, a great majority are his disciples. Visit http://www.sureshtalwalkar.com for more details.

Hailing from rich traditions of Dharwad, young Kumar Mardur had his training from his father Pandit Somanath Mardur, a renowned Hindustani Classical Vocalist of the Kirana Gharana. Pandit Somanath Mardur is a senior disciple of Padmabhushan Dr. Basavaraj Rajguru. Under the able guidance of his father, Kumar has shown all the qualities of becoming a promising young artist. Presently Kumar has also been learning from Pandit Firoz Dastur, a great maestro of the Kirana Gharana and a senior disciple of Late Sawai Gandharva. Endowed with a melodious voice, Kumar is known for pure and aesthetic presentation of ragas, clear taan patterns and command over laya.

Savani Talwalkar is the daughter of Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and Pta. Padma Talwalkar.  As an upcoming disciple of her father, she has accompanied him in many of his solo performances. She is a part of project ‘Swar- Taalyatra’ by Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and has toured Thailand and some prominent cities of India for this project. Savani got an opportunity to accompany Guruji in some of his concerts and has performed with his other disciples in presence of scholars and seniors.

 Chinmay Kolhatkar is a young and versatile harmonium player. He received his initial music training from Shri Rajprasad Dharmadhikari, Kolhapur, and now is under the tutelage of famous harmonium maestro of India, Dr. Shri Arvind Thatte. After completing his graduation in Electronics, Chinmay has made music his career. Though young he has already provided efficient and competent harmonium accompaniment to many leading artists of Indian classical music. Chinmay is taking vocal training from Shri Rajendra Manerikar and learning voice culture.

Utsav 2008 Artists

Anil Narasimha has been learning vocal music for the past 17 years from Hemmige V. Srivatsan, a leading male disciple of Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy. Since his debut vocal concert at the age of eleven, Anil has given concerts in Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Cleveland, and in many other cities in the USA.  Anil adheres to the bani established by the Ariyakkudi-KVN music school. He also plays Carnatic music on the slide guitar and has given solo as well as jugalbandi performances in the USA.  Anil received his B.S. degree in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Biology at the University of California, San Diego. In Utsav, Anil will be accompanied by Ravi Ramamurthy (violin), Nirmal Narayan (mridangam) and Ravi Balasubramanian (ghatam).

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center  Saturday 11th Oct. 1:30 PM -  2:15 PM

Archana Srikanth has been learning Carnatic music for the last five years. Her guru Sreevidhya Chandramouli is an acclaimed vainika and vocalist and is the tenth generation exponent of the illustrious Karaikudi veena tradition. As a child Archana briefly learnt Hindustani Music in the Paluskar paddhati from Smt. Suhasini Vyas and Shri. M.P. Joshi at "Vyas Sangeet Vidyamandir" in Mumbai from 1991-92. After moving to Pune she learnt some Carnatic compositions from Smt. Geeta Venkatakrishnan. Currently, she assists her guru in teaching younger students and lives with her husband, flautist Srikanth Dakshinamoorthy and son Shambhava in Portland. In Utsav, Archana will be accompanied by Srikanth Dakshinamoorthy (flute) and Sashi (mridangam)

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center.  Saturday 11th Oct. 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM

“Chamma Chamma” is a Bollywood dance group led by Nina Niranjan. Nina is a junior at the University of Washington. She completed a seven year course in Bharatanatyam from the Kalalaya School for the Performing Arts by the time she was fourteen years old. After high school she founded the Chamma Chamma Dance School and is the director. She teaches modern and classical Indian dance, sharing the East Indian culture with her diverse group of students.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center. Sunday 12th Oct. 12:30 -12:15 PM

Chandana Dixit is a professional recording and performing vocalist from Mumbai, India. She has trained in the Kirana Gharana vocal style from  Smt. Saraswati Rane for 5 years and also briefly with Smt. Veena Sahasrabuddhe. She has won many classical music competitions, most prominent being the National Scholarship for 2002 during her college years. Subsequently, she trained in light music under famous music directors  Kalyanji - Anandji  and began her career in playback singing. Currently based in Seattle, she has seriously begun to pursue Classical music once again, returning to her bearings.  In Utsav, Chandana will be accompanied by Dr. Sharad Gadre (harmonium) and Manoj Biswas (tabla).

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center. Sunday 12th Oct. 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

Utsav 2008 Artists

Durga Swaminathan, an accomplished Bharathanatyam artist, has learnt the art form for the last two decades. She did her arangetram under the tutelage of Guru Shrimathy Ranganayaki Jayaraman and later transitioned to the Kalakshetra style under the guidance of Padmashri Adyar K. Lakshman. She has performed extensively in India, appearing on Doordarshan and Jaya TV. After moving to Bay Area in 2002, she qualified as a HR Professional from Berkeley and has successfully blended her career with dance.

Brechemin Auditorium, U of W Campus.

Friday 10th Oct. 7:30 PM - 8:15 PM

‘From Within’ is performed by Subhashini Vijay Santhanam (Subha) and her students. Subha has trained in the Kalakshetra, Pandanallur and Vazhavoor schools of Bharatanatyam under esteemed gurus in India. Subha has passion for her chosen art form and takes great pleasure in passing on the tradition to future generations

 Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center.

 Saturday 11th Oct. 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM

  Gaurav Chanda began his musical training at the age of seven from Smt. Anita Roy. He then learnt from Smt. Shanti Sharma for a considerable period of time at the Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi where he developed a Kirana-Indore style of khayal gayaki. Since he moved to Seattle in 2005, he has been learning from Shri. Sharad Gadre, who has helped him imbibe rich Gwalior traditions in his music. Gaurav holds degrees in Computer Science from Georgia Tech and IIT-Delhi. He works as a software developer for Amazon.com.  At Utsav, Gaurav will be accompanied by Dr. Sharad Gadre (harmonium) and Manoj Biswas (tabla).

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center.  Sunday 12th Oct. 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM

Jamie Lynn Colley began her training under Guru Dr. Ratna Roy in 1996, as a freshman at The Evergreen State College. Since then, Jamie Lynn has undertaken intensive study of the Mahari tradition of Odissi dance under Dr.Roy and the style of her Guru, the Guru Pankaj Charan Das. In 2006, she continued her advanced training of Odissi dance and music in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. Jamie Lynn has performed throughout North America and internationally, both as a soloist and senior dancer in Urvasi Dance Company.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center

Sunday 12th Oct. 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

Josh Feinberg began studying piano at age 4, and continued to study bass violin, jazz and western classical music through high school and college. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with a BM in Contemporary Improvisation and Sitar Performance. He is also a Fulbright scholar. After receiving initial sitar training from Dr. Peter Row, he has trained under Ustad Ali Akbar Khansahib and some of his senior disciples including Sri Anindya Banerjee.  Josh has taught, given lecture demonstrations and performed at many major institutions the US. He lives in Portland, Oregon. At Utsav 2008, Josh will be accompanied by Chaz Hastings on the tabla.

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center

Sunday 12th Oct. 12:00 Noon – 12:45 PM

Utsav 2008 Artists

 Lalitagauri Makarand Agashe is grateful to Guru Acharya Parvatikumar for providing the valuable guidance and inspiration for her dance innovations.  She is a very passionate student, teacher and performer of Bharatanatyam dance in the Tanjavoor style. As an artistic director of Tanjavur Dance School, she has been teaching in this area for last 15 years. She is very proud of her students for carrying forward the tradition of this great art heritage and keeping it alive.

Brechemin Auditorium, U of W Campus. Friday 10th Oct. 9:30 PM - 10:15 PM

Nirmala Rajasekar made her musical debut at the age of 13 in Bangalore, India. She is a disciple of veena veteran Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan and has had her vocal mentoring under Bhagavatula Sri. Sitarama Sarma and Prof. T. R. Subramaniam. An “A” grade artist of All India Radio since1991, she has performed in festivals of India around the world. Nirmala was awarded several awards and honors, including the ‘Naadha Kala Vipanchee’ recognition by Dr. Balamuralikrishna. She is a dedicated teacher featured on several National and State rosters. She was recognized by the Minnesota Music Educators Association for ‘Distinguished Service’ and is the artistic director of the “Naadha Rasa Center for Music” based in Plymouth, MN.

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center. Saturday 11th Oct. 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

The Tamil Song Dance presentation will be led by Shraddha Oak.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center  Sunday 12th Oct. 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM

“RimJhim” is a group of talented music enthusiasts who perform music ranging in style from Classical to popular music. The performers are Anindita Das, Surma Hossain, Rebeka Noman, Shayon Ghosh, Shamima Noor, Birol Saha and Nadia Sultana. They will present Nazrul Geeti, Rabindra Sangeet, Folk music and patriotic songs in this Utsav this year.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center

Sunday 12th Oct. 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM

“Swarali” is a Seattle-based Indian band formed in 2001 consisting of talented singers and musicians. Swarali performs live music shows covering a wide variety of musical forms to packed audiences. The originality of Indian music is retained with traditional instruments like tabla, dholki, flute and santoor played side-by-side with Western keyboards, drums and guitars. Swarali is now a well-known band both in Seattle and in cities across the USA.  Swarali has to its credit performances in the prestigious BMM Music festivals.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center Saturday 11th Oct. 12 Noon – 1:45 PM

Utsav 2008 Artists

Sampada Bhalerao started Hindustani classical vocal and sitar training at an early age with her mother, Mrs. Sarita Mitragotri and later with Mrs. Sulabha Pishwikar (disciple of Mrs. Kishori Amonkar) in India. After moving to Seattle, she continued her vocal training with Vasu Sunderraj and Dr. Sharad Gadre.  She has continued her sitar training under Jeff Lewis (disciple of the Dagar brothers). She also learnt from Ustad Shujaat Khan while he was teaching at the UW in 1994. Sampada has performed at Northwest Folklife Festival, EMP and at various functions in the Seattle area. In Utsav, Sampada will be accompanied by Kuntal Roy (tabla).

 Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center . Sunday 12th Oct. 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Dr Sanjay Subramanian, a Critical Care physician, began his musical training in New Delhi under Sri .S. V. Ramani and senior musician Smt. Lakshmi Ramaswamy, disciple of Mysore Vasudevachar. After a brief hiatus during his medical school years, he resumed his training under acclaimed artist Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. In addition, he has enriched his repertoire by learning compositions from Padmashri P. S. Narayanswamy (disciple of music legend Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer ) and senior artiste Smt. Prema Hariharan. He is currently also guided in vocal and veena by vainika Smt. Sreevidhya Chandramouli.  He has performed for AIR Yuva Vani Delhi, at local music festivals at venues across the US and in the Chennai December music season for the past three years. He has also had the honor of providing vocal support to Guru Sri. Santhanagopalan during his recent US tour.

Conference Room A, Center House, Seattle Center.  Saturday 11th Oct. 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM

‘Natyamakarandam’Swathi Kamakshi is a Bharatanatyam dancer with over 15 years of performance experience. Swathi has trained under Smt. Madhumathy Prakash and Guru Shri Udupi Laxminarayanan in the Thanjavur style and Smt. Savithri Jagannathan Rao in the Kalakshetra style. She has attended workshops with Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy and Smt. Narthaki Nataraj, and has also trained in the Kuchupidi and Mohiniattam dance forms. Swathi has given numerous recitals in Chennai's prestigious sabhas, across India and in the Seattle area. Swathi has also choreographed semi-classical, north Indian folk and south Indian folk dance pieces.

Brechemin Auditorium, U of W Campus.

Friday 10th Oct. 8:30 PM - 9:15 PM

“TMB”, a Seattle-based Pakistani rock band stands for "To Make Benefit", an apt name since most of their shows have been for the benefit of charities. TMB realized early on that their forte was not in doing verbatim covers, but in amalgamating different musical styles from the east and west, leading to their unique sound signature. They started off by ‘TMB-izing’ famous Pakistani rock songs and are currently working on their first album. Their tracks are available on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Main Stage, Center House, Seattle Center.  Saturday 11th Oct. 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM

Utsav 2008 Accompanists

Sharad Gadre has been involved in music for over 55 years. He got his training in the vocal classical musical tradition from two stalwarts of the Gwalior gharana, the late Pt. Yeshwant Sadashiv Mirashibuwa, and the late Pt. Nagesh Khalikar, both of Pune. Sharad, a vocalist, composer, teacher and an accomplished harmonium accompanist, has given several concerts and workshops on topics related to classical music. He has accompanied such top notch musicians as Pt. Jasraj, the late Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, Ullhas Kashalkar, and Sanjeev Abhyankar and others in their concerts. He is currently teaching many students. Sharad holds a Ph.D. in Engineering, and has worked in the computer applications area throughout his working career and has developed RagaParichaya, a software program for learning classical music.

In Utsav, Sharad Gadre will accompany Gaurav Chanda and Chandana Dixit.

Kuntal Roy is an acclaimed tabla player from Kolkata. He was initiated into tabla at an early age by Sri. Narayan Chandra Haldar. He continued his study under Sri. Radha Raman Nath and senior disciple of Pt. Anindo Chatterjee. He then went on to become a disciple of the legendary player and teacher Pt. Shankar Ghosh. Kuntal has given a number of solo recitals in India and abroad, and accompanied several vocalists. He has also appeared on National television in India. In Utsav, Kuntal Roy will accompany Sampada Bhalerao.

Ravi Ramamurthy is interested in all forms of music and has a profound interest in Carnatic music. He is a direct disciple of the violin maestro Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman and has been learning the violin since the age of eight. He has performed in Seattle as both an accompanist and a solo artist. His recent performances include Utsav 2007 and the Northwest Folklife Festival. He has a Ph.D in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and currently works for Microsoft.   In Utsav, Ravi will accompany Sanjay Subramanian and Anil Narasimha.

Manoj Biswas is a promising tabla player based in Seattle. He began his studies in Tabla under Sri. Kuntal Roy, a student of Pt. Shankar Ghosh in 1991. Subsequently, after his move to Seattle in 2000 he has continued his studies under Smt. Annie Penta, and with the young virtuoso Sri. Vishal Nagar. He performs regularly in Seattle and the northwest as an accompanist for both classical and light music programs. He holds a masters degree in Computer Science and is presently employed as a software engineer at Microsoft Corporation.

In Utsav, Manoj will accompany Gaurav Chanda and Chandana Dixit.

Nirmal Narayan is a disciple of mridangam maestro Sangeetha Kalanidhi Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. He began training under  Poovalur Srinivasan before coming under the guidance of Sri. Sivaraman. Nirmal has been a regular participant in the Chennai Music Festival since 1997, accompanying eminent Sangeetha Kalanidhi artists and vidwans. He has performed in all the leading sabhas in Chennai and in numerous prominent venues around India, Sri Lanka and the USA. He has won various prizes for his accompaniment, including the “Yuva Kala Bharathi” by Bharat Kalachar. Nirmal holds a degree in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a finance analyst in Los Angeles, CA, and is also a teacher and performer.

In Utsav, Nirmal will accompany Sanjay Subramanian, Anil Narasimha and Nirmala Rajasekar.

Chaz Hastings is a prominent performer of Indian percussion from Portland, Oregon.  Chaz began studying tabla in 2002 with Doug Scheuerell at the University of Oregon. Having developed his foundation from Mr. Scheuerell, Chaz then traveled to India twice to receive advanced training from the young tabla maestro Vishal Nagar in New Delhi. Apart from performing North Indian classical and folk music, Chaz is also an accomplished performer of Latin, Spanish, and Middle Eastern percussion and can be heard throughout the Portland area in a variety of musical contexts.

In Utsav, Chaz will accompany Josh Feinberg .

Dr. Ravi Balasubramanian is a sought-after ghatam artiste in North America and is known for his energetic, sensitive accompaniment and solos. Ravi has performed at top musical institutions such as the Chennai Music Academy and the Cleveland Aradhana for over fourteen years. He received the title Yuva Kala Bharathi in 2003 from Bharat Kalachar for excellence and dedication in the art of ghatam. Ravi has performed with leading artistes including Sangitha Kalanidhi vocalists, violinists, flautists, and mridangam artists in India, USA, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. Ravi received his initial tutelage from Palghat Sri P. K. Sekar and Sangitha Kalanidhi Dr. T. K. Murthy and later pursued advanced training from Sri. V. Suresh in Chennai, India. He recently received his doctorate in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and is a Research Associate at the University of Washington.

In Utsav, Ravi will accompany Anil Narasimha and Nirmala Rajasekar.

Srikanth Dakshinamoorthy started learning to play the bamboo flute at the age of 14. He had his initial training in from Sri. T. Ravindran in Chennai, India. Srikanth performed in light music and devotional concerts from 1997-99. During this time, he also learnt Carnatic compositions from Sri. Nanganallur Ramanathan, Smt. Rathna Sooryanarayanan, and Sri. Shashank. Since 2003, he has been learning from Smt. Sreevidhya Chandramouli. He lives with his wife Archana and son Shambhava in Portland.

In Utsav, Srikanth will accompany Archana Srikanth.