Headlining Performers . 2017
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Bhawani Shankar
Bhawani Shankar, aka Bhawani Kathak, is a renowned Indian classical percussionist. He began playing the pakhwaj and tabla under the guidance of his father, Pandit Babulalji, a recognised maestro of Kathak dance, pakhawaj and tabla from the Jaipur Gharana. Shankar also received further guidance in tabla under Pandit Shivlalji Kathak of the Ajrara Gharana. He has shared the stage with some of India’s greatest maestros which includes Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi, amongst many others. Shankar is the recipient of several prestigious awards including a Grammy nomination, Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar, Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy Award, National President Award, and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, to name a few. He has travelled around the globe performing solo, as well as accompanying other renowned musicians.
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Brajeswar Mukherjee
Born in Burdwan on March 11, 1984, Brajeswar Mukherjee was initiated by his parents and later learnt from Hara Kumar Chatterjee and Asit Roy. He was then accepted as a disciple by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty from 1997 and continues to train under him at ITC SRA. Since 2000 he has been teaching at Shrutinandan, the music school established by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. He has accompanied his Guru on the harmonium or provided vocal support in concerts around the world. His solo performances have been at prestigious concerts like the ITC SRA Mangaldeep Sammelans.
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Budhaditya Mukherjee
Budhaditya Mukherjee is a renowned classical sitarist from India, an exponent of Imdadkhani Gharana. Considered to be one of the leading classical musicians of his generation, Mukherjee trained in the disciplines of the sitar and surbahar under the guidance of his father Late Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee. He has extensively toured in India and abroad, Mukherjee was the first musician to perform at the House of Commons in London. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Academi Award, Kumar Gandharva Sanman and Sangeet Mahasanman Award.
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Debojyoti Bose
Debojyoti Bose is a notable tabla artist from India, an exponent of the Senia Bangash Gharana. His grandfather Akshay Kumar Bose had a great passion for tabla which was passed on to the generations that followed. Bose is part of the fourth generations of musicians in his family. His father, Pandit Biswanath Bose, was an exponent of the Benaras Gharana and a disciple of Pandit Kanthe Maharaj. His mother, Bharati Bose, a sitar artist, was a disciple of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He initially trained under the guidance of his parents but eventually became a disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Bose also received additional training in classical vocals from Pandit Jayanta Bose, Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra and Pandit Vijay Kichlu.
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Firoz Khan
Firoz Khan is a distinguished sitar artist from Bangladesh. He was inspired to follow a career in music by his maternal uncle Ustad Khurshid Khan, and trained under Late Laxmi Kanto Dey. Khan has performed at prestigious shows in Bangladesh and abroad. He also earned several awards throughout his career for his contributions to music. He is presently serving as the Music Director of Bangladesh Betar, Dhaka.
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Gazi Abdul Hakim
Gazi Abdul Hakim is a renowned flautist from Bangladesh. He trained under the guidance of Mukul Biswas, Dulal Babu, Sheikh Ali Ahmed and Binoy Ray. Hakim has performed at prestigious shows in Bangladesh and abroad – some of his notable performances include a show at House of Commons in 1994 and at the Commonwealth Summit in Canberra in 2001. He has been working as a Staff Artiste at Bangladesh Betar since 1974.
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Government Music College
The sixth edition of Bengal Classical Music Festival will feature a khayal recital by students of the Government Music College. The college is one of the oldest and renowned institutions in Bangladesh. It is also an affiliate of the National University.
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Hariprasad Chaurasia
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is an internationally renowned exponent of the bansuri. By the age of fifteen, he was studying classical vocal music from Pandit Raja Ram of Benares but changed his focus to playing the flute after hearing a recital by Pandit Bholanath. Chaurasia is considered to be one of India’s most-respected classical musicians; earning him several prestigious awards and honours – which included the Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, National Eminence, the title ‘Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau’ by the Dutch Royal family at Amsterdam, Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France, amongst many others. He serves as the artistic director of the World Music Department at the Rotterdam Music Conservatory in the Netherlands.
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Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj is an iconic classical vocalist from India, and exponent of the Mewati Gharana. He was first introduced to music by his father Pandit Motiram. Jasraj continued his training under the guidance of his brothers Pandit Maniram and Pandit Pratap Narayan, after his father’s passing, and also trained under Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela of Sanand during later years. He has performed at numerous shows in India and abroad. Jasraj is a recipient of the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhusan, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award, Global Indian Music Award (GIMA), amongst many others.
