I have the honor to assist in organizing and presenting a unique concert at Berkeley Arts Festival (2133 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA – map) on Sun 22 Feb (see set times below).
Sarasvatī (सरस्वती) on her animal mount, the swan; painting by Navneet Parikh (नवनीत पारिख)
Sarasvatī (सरस्वती), goddess of music, at the touch-style veena
◉ Set 1, 8pm: North Indian Jugalbandi (जुगलबंदी)
Teed Rockwell and the Touch-Style Veena
Western instrument: Chapman Stick ® type touch-guitar, modified into a “Touch-Style Veena”
Jugalbandi (जुगलबंदी) expands the solo format of classical Hindustani (North Indian) music to combine two melody instruments playing together with tabla drums. However, it can’t be seen as a step in the direction of a band or orchestra. It is instead a completely different perspective altogether: two soloists in interactive conversation with each other. This form was developed by Indian music greats Ravi Shankar (রবি শংকর) and Ali Akbar Khan (علي أكبر خان), and for this concert it will be expanded even further by two of Ali Akbar Kahn’s most dedicated disciples, with the assistance of a pioneer of Kathak tabla.
Line-up:
Teed Rockwell
The album Snakes And Ladders, by Australian Bebop Ragas
His group Australian Bebop Ragas, which combines Indian ragas and rhythms with the playing of didjeridu master Stephen Kent, has received extensive air play and has performed in concerts throughout the United States. He frequently performs in the Festival of Harps concert series with harpist Diana Stork, and is featured on the Polygram album Harpestry, which has sold over 200,000 copies.
Neither Brain nor Ghost, by Teed Rockwell
In his spare time, Teed is an academic philosopher of consciousness and teaches at Sonoma State U. In his recent book, Neither Brain nor Ghost: A Nondualist Alternative to the Mind-Brain Identity Theory, he rejects both dualism and the mind-brain identity theory and instead proposes that mental phenomena emerge not merely from brain activity but from an interacting nexus of brain, body, and world. The mind can be seen not as an organ within the body, but as a “behavioral field” that fluctuates within this brain-body-world nexus.
Peter van Gelder
— Peter van Gelder – (sitar) first appeared on the San Francisco music scene playing bass guitar & soprano sax in the seminal rock band The Great Society with Grace Slick.
The Great Society - Grace Slick, Jerry Slick, Darby Slick, and Peter van Gelder
He was one of the first American disciples of India’s great maestro Ali Akbar Khan (علي أكبر خان), and one of the very few people to have studied with the great Annapurna Devi (अन्नपूर्णा देवी), sister of Ali Akbar Khan (علي أكبر خان) and wife of Ravi Shankar (রবি শংকর). Peter has performed with world famous musicians including Zakir Hussain (زاكير حسين), the late Chitresh Das (चित्रेश दास), and Lalgudi Krishnan (லால்குடி கிருஷ்ணன்). His lucid sitar style has won praise from audiences around the world, from Europe to the Fiji Islands as well as India and China.
Samrat Kakkeri (सम्राट कक्केरी)
Samrat Kakkeri (सम्राट कक्केरी)
He was a child prodigy who received acclaim as an accomplished tabla player from an early age and has performed both as a solo artist and accompanying artist all over India. Samrat is additionally skilled in the specialized genre and unique demands of tabla playing for the Kathak classical dance of North India, where the dancer uses ankle bells and foot stamps as a co-percussionist in intricate interlacing rhythms. He’s accompanied many prominent Kathak dancers including Urmila Nagar (उर्मिला नागर) and Nilima Devi (नीलिमा देवी) as well as master musicians such as Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (विश्व मोहन भट्ट), Kankana Banerjee (কংকনা ব্যানার্জী), Irshad Khan (إرشاد حسین خان), and Satish Vyas (सतीश व्यास).
Rāgas Pūriyā Dhanāśrī (पुरिया धनाश्री) and Jog (जोग) will be performed.
South India's Saxophone Sisters will be the subject of a documentary film at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum on 15 June 2015
◉ Set 2m 9pm: Classic South Indian format
Western instrument: saxophone.
Kadri Gopalnath (ಕದ್ರಿ ಗೋಪಾಲನಾಥ್)
Due to the pioneering virtuosity of “Padmashri” Dr. Kadri Gopalnath (ಕದ್ರಿ ಗೋಪಾಲನಾಥ್), the Western saxophone has joined the violin and mandolin as a prominent cross-over instrument in Karnatic (South Indian) classical music.
(L→R) Kadri Gopalnath (ಕದ್ರಿ ಗೋಪಾಲನಾಥ್) and Prasant Radhakrishnan (ప్రశాంత్ రాధాకృష్ణన్)
— Prasant Radhakrishnan (ప్రశాంత్ రాధాకృష్ణన్) is the foremost disciple of “Padmashri” Kadri Gopalnath (ಕದ್ರಿ ಗೋಪಾಲನಾಥ್), with whom he studied in the traditional gurukulam format for about a decade, and whom he accompanied in hundreds of concerts.
Prasant has performed with luminaries such as M.S. Anantharaman (எம். எஸ். அனந்தராமன்), Guruvayur Dorai (ഗുരുവായൂർ ദൊരൈ), Mannargudi Easwaran (மன்னார்குடி ஈஸ்வரன்), Srimushnam Raja Rao (ಶ್ರೀಮುಶ್ನಂ ರಾಜ ರಾವ್), Poovalur Srinivasan (பூவலூர் சீனிவாசன்), V. Suresh (வீ. சுரேஸ்), B. Rajashekar (ಬೀ. ರಾಜಶೇಖರ), as well as superstars of the younger generation such as B.U. Ganesh Prasad (பீ. யூ. கணேஷ் பிரசாத்), P. Satish Kumar (P. சதீஷ் குமார்), Embar S. Kannan (எம்பார் எஸ். கண்ணன்) and Delhi P. Sunderrajan (தில்லி P. சுந்தர்ராஜன்), among others.
Prasant Radhakrishnan (ప్రశాంత్ రాధాకృష్ణన్)
In parallel with his meteoric development as a Karnatic artist, Prasant immersed himself in jazz at the U. of Southern California, and after moving to the Bay Area, founded the acclaimed Indo-jazz band VidyA, as well as performing in Sameer Gupta’s (समीर गुप्ता) Indo-jazz band Namaskar and with Indo-jazz musician George Brooks.
Prasant has been commissioned by the de Young Museum Cultural Encounters Initiative and Intersection for the Arts, as well as being awarded with grants and fellowships such as a Zellerbach grant and the prestigious AIIS Senior Performing Arts fellowship to study in Chennai.
Rohan Krishnamurthy (ரோகன் கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி)
— Rohan Krishnamurthy (ரோகன் கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி), mṛdangam.
Acclaimed an “international mṛdangam performer” by USA Today and “pride of India” by India’s leading newspaper, The Times of India, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy initially received mṛdangam training with Damodaran Srinivasan (ദാമോദരൻ ശ്രീനിവാസൻ) and continued advanced training from maestro, Guruvayur Dorai (ഗുരുവായൂർ ദൊരൈ).
Rohan has shared the stage with the leading artists of Indian classical music, including Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (మంగళంపల్లి బాలమురళీకృష్ణ), T.N. Krishnan (ടി.എൻ. കൃഷ്ണൻ), N. Ramani (என். ரமணி), the late R. K. Srikantan (ಆರ್.ಕೆ ಶ್ರೀಕಾಂತನ್), T.N. Seshagopalan (டி. என். சேசகோபாலன்), Chitravina N. Ravikiran (ಚಿತ್ರವೀಣೆ ಎನ್. ರವಿಕಿರಣ್), Shashank Subramanyam (சசாங்க் சுப்பிரமணியத்தின்), T. M. Krishna (டி. எம். கிருஷ்ணா), O.S. Thyagarajan (ஓ. எஸ். தியாகராஜன்), and “Ranjani & Gayatri” (ரஞ்சனி – காயத்ரி).
Having intensely studied many styles of music, he has also spearheaded new cross-musical collaborations with eminent symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, and musicians including Grammy Award-winners Glen Velez & Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (विश्व मोहन भट्ट), Anoushka Shankar (अनुष्का शंकर), Jamey Haddad, and Ayano Ninomiya (二宮あやの).
West coast premiere of the Rohan Concerto by Payton MacDonald @ the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (photo - Emily Sevin)
He recently premiered Rohan, a concerto for South Indian percussion and Western percussion ensemble written for him by composer and percussionist Payton MacDonald, on both coasts at The Juilliard School in NYC and SF Conservatory of Music.
Rohan Krishnamurthy (ரோகன் கிருஷ்ணமூ) with a special mṛdangam of his own patented design
An innovator, Rohan designed a new drumhead tuning system that won him first place in Eastman’s New Venture Challenge entrepreneurship competition. His work was published in the premier music journal, Percussive Notes. Rohan conducted acoustical research on his new design and has been regularly invited to present his work at the Acoustical Society of America’s international conferences. Rohan has also received a patent for his invention. He is currently a professor in the Music Department at Ohlone College.
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In a globalizing world where building a future planetary culture is an existential imperative, cross-cultural encounter zones and their creolization vectors are where some of the most beautiful and important action is happening.
Come vibrate with us in this particularly exciting encounter zone!
फिर मिलेंगे…
Joe