Artist
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Sanjeev Abhyankar
Sanjeev Abhyankar is a noted vocalist from India, a torchbearer of the Mewati Gharana. He trained under the guidance of his mother Shobha Abhyankar, Pandit Pimpalkhare of the Gwalior Gharana and Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj of the Mewati Gharana. Abhyankar’s performances are marked by his grace and versatility. He has toured extensively in India and abroad. Abhyankar is a recipient of the President’s Award, Kumar Gandharva National Award, the National Award, FIE Foundation National Award, The Rotary Vocational Excellence Award, Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar, the title of ‘Sur-Ratna’, amongst many others.
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Sanjoy Bandopadhyay
Sanjoy Bandopadhyay is a distinguished sitar artist from India. Apart from a successful career as a performer, he is also known as a guru and an academician. Bandopadhyay primarily trained under Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra and Pandit Bimalendu Mukherjee, but also received training from his father Pandit Peejush Prasanna Bandopadhyay, Pandit Manas Chakraborty, and Dr. M R Gautam. His performances are marked by exemplary spontaneity in musical expressions and he has performed at many prestigious events in India and abroad, including a show at the Plenary Session of UNESCO. Bandopadhyay served as ‘Artist in Residence’ at the University of Chicago and University of Colorado. He is currently the Chair Professor (Ustad Allauddin Khan Chair) at the Department of Instrumental Music, Director of S M Tagore Centre of Documentation & Research of Languishing & Obsolescent Musical Instruments, Coordinator of the UGC SAP-DRS Research Project of the Department of Instrumental Music at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.
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Saskia Rao-de Haas
Saskia Rao-de Haas is a renowned cellist and composer from the Netherlands, based in India. She trained in the disciplines of the western music, but changed her focus after coming into contact with Indian music in 1993. She began her training under Tibor de Machula and later studied the cello at the Conservatory of Rotterdam, specialising in Indian classical music under Koustav Ray and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, while finishing her masters in Ethnomusicology from the University of Amsterdam. Critics and audiences have praised her for artistic depth and technical virtuosity. Haas is credited for creating the ‘Indian cello’ and the ‘Veena d’ Amore’ - a smaller, electro acoustic cello. She has extensively toured through North America, Europe and Asia; performing at numerous prestigious shows and venues. Haas was the first female foreign artist to have performed at the prestigious Doverlane Music conference in Kolkata. Other notable Indian shows include performances at Legends of India in New Delhi, Saptak Festival in Ahmdehabad, Vasanta Habbha in Bangalore, Maihar festival, and Haridas Sangeet Samelan in Lucknow. She is a recipient of the Pandit Jasraj -Rotary Club of Hyderabad Award and Delhi Ratna. Haas, along with Shubhendra Rao, runs a foundation to promote Indian music education.
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Satyajit Talwalkar
Satyajit Talwalkar is the son of the renowned tabla maestro, Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, and classical vocalist, Vidushi Padma Talwalkar. His interest in percussion was nurtured by his father and following in his footsteps, Talwalkar has become a masterful accompanist to instrumental and vocal music, as well as a solo artist. He is a member of the ensemble ‘Taal Vadya Kacheri’ and has accompanied major Hindustani artists including Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Ustad Rashid Khan and Ustad Shahid Parvez. Talwalkar has performed extensively in India and overseas. He is keen on fusion, world music and jazz. Talwalkar’s international collaborations include the likes of Louis Banks and world-renowned percussionist Trilok Gurtu.
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Shahadat Hossain Khan
Ustad Shahadat Hossain Khan is one of the most celebrated Sarod players in Bangladesh. Born in Comilla in 1958, he belongs to a family of illustrious and internationally renowned musicians in Bangladesh. At the age of seven he started taking Sarod lessons from his father and later became the disciple of his uncle Ustad Bahadur Khan. During his professional career, Khan has been honoured with numerous awards including the ‘Ekushey Padak’, the Highest National Award of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1994.
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Shahid Parvez Khan
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan is a renowned vocalist from India. He has performed in most major musical festivals in India and abroad, including the festival held in the US, Europe, Canada, Africa, Russia, Middle-East and Australia.
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Sharmila Banerjee
Sharmila Banerjee is a renowned dancer and choreographer from Bangladesh. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Dance from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, and completed her Post-Graduate degree in Manipuri Dance at the Manipuri Nartanalaya, Kolkata, under the guidance of Bipin Singh and Kalavati Devi. Banerjee is a recipient of Visva Yuva Barsha Padak, the title of ‘Nartan Visharad’ from Manipuri Nartanalaya, the Gauhar Jamil Shammanana Padak from the Bangladesh Dancer’s Association and is also recognised as the ‘World Master of Bangladesh’ by World Master’s Association in Korea, amongst others. She is currently the head of department of Dance at Chhayanaut and runs her private school, Nritya Nandan.
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Shashank Maktedar
Shashank Maktedar began learning classical music from his father, Shamrao Maktedar and later from Pandit Nath Neralkar. He has been awarded the Jadu Bhatta Puraskar, the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Award for upcoming musicians by Sangeet Kala Kendra, Mumbai, the Yuva Gayak Puraskar in memory of Ramkrishna Vaze Bua by the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune as well as a Fellowship from Sanskriti Pratishthan, Delhi for 2008-2009. Shashank has been a Lecturer at the Goa College of Music since 2002, exclusively training postgraduate students, some of whom are making a name for themselves.