Headlining Performers
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Abhijit Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee is a renowned tabla artist from India. He began his training under the guidance of Tushar Kanti Bose and later from Manik Pal and is currently a disciples of Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Banerjee is the founder of Tarang and a member of the raga jazz group, Arohi Ensemble. Apart from playing the tabla, he also trained as a vocalist and a violinist. Banerjee has accompanied numerous top ranking musicians of Indian classical music, which includes Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Begum Parween Sultana, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, and Dr. Balamurali Krishna, to name a few. He is the recipient of many awards and has extensively toured in India and abroad. Banerjee is also the founder of Dhwani Academy of Percussion in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore and Kolkata.
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Abir Hossain
Abir Hossain was born into a musical family of Burdwan, West Bengal. His father Gulam Emam was his first mentor in music. At the age of 12 he came under the tutelage of sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta. He continues to receive taalim from his Guru, being well on his way to becoming a torch bearer of the Seni-Shajahanpur Gharana. Abir won the National Scholarship of the Government of India in 1997 and the gold medal at the 'Sangeet Prabhakar' examination. He has performed in concerts across India. Currently he is a musician-scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.
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Aditi Mangaldas
Aditi Mangaldas is a leading classical dancer and choreographer from India, an exponent of Kathak. She trained under the guidance of Kumudini Lakhia and Pandit Birju Maharaj. Unlike most popular Indian classical performers, Mangaldas does not hail from a family of musicians. Instead, as she explained, her desire to dance was born out of an atmosphere of freedom ¬– an ambience where ideas and imaginations were encouraged to flow. Apart from classical disciplines, Mangaldas’s is also known to work with contemporary styles. Her performances are marked by its artistry, technique, eloquence and energy. Mangaldas has toured in India and abroad, and her performances – solo and group ensembles – have received critical acclaim at prestigious shows around the world. She is presently the choreographer and principal dancer of The Drishtikon Dance Foundation.
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Ajoy Chakrabarty
Ajoy Chakrabarty is a renowned vocalist from India. He began his training under the guidance of his father, Ajit Chakrabarty, who shaped his early style in North Indian vocal music. Chakrabarty later continued his training under many notable musicians such as Pandit Kanai Das Bairagi, Ustad Munawar Ali Khan (son of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan) and Guru Jnan Prakash Ghosh, to name a few. Because of his extensive training, he is not only a doyen of the Patiala-Kasur style, but can also portray the key features of other major classical gharanas. Chakrabarty has been with ITC-Sangeet Research Academy since its inception, joining in 1978 as its first scholar. He later became one of the youngest gurus of the Academy – a post he still holds today – and is also a member of its Expert Committee. Chakrabarty’s list of awards and honours is monumental. He was awarded with the Padma Shri, the first musician to have received a Gold Medal from ITC-Sangeet Research Academy and the Kumar Gandharva Award for the ‘Best Musician of India under 45’, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Banga Bibhushan, and Alva’s Virasat Award, amongst many others.
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Astana Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonic orchestra of the State Academic Philharmony of Astana, founded in the year of 2000, is considered to be one of the most notable orchestras of Kazakhstan. Berik Batyrkhan, Artistic Director, and Ernar Nurtazin, Chief Conductor, are laureates of many international competitions. Astana Philharmonic Orchestra has collaborated with many distinguished conductors including the likes of K Penderecki, V Ashkenazy, R Gutter, A Tchaikovsky, R Kanetti, and D. Brosse, amongst others. The ensemble is also known to perform with musicians such as Placido Domingo, liana Isakadze, Vladimir Krainev, and Denis Matzuev. In 2011 Astana Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra took part in a world premiere of the first Arabic musical ‘Praksa’ of H Gabor, alongside Opera Theatre of Egypt. The ensemble has extensively toured in Kazakhstan, as well as in Germany, Italy, Greece, and Egypt, amongst other places.
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Avijit Kundu
Avijit Kundu is a classical vocalist from Bangladesh, an exponent of Dhrupad. He began training under the guidance of Ashit Dey and is presently a student of Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay, under Pandit Uday Bhawalkar.
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Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay – Sarod
Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay’s Sarod band was formed in 2015 and consists of sarod students from the institute. The group presently consists of five students and are training under the guidance of Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, a distinguished sarod artist from India. Bengal Classical Music Festival 2017 will feature a sitar recital by Ilham Fuljhuri Khan, Ishra Fuljhuri Khan, Aumbarish Das and Md. Saddam Hussain.
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Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay – Sitar
Bengal Parampara Sangeetalay’s Sitar band was formed in 2015 and consists of sitar students students from the institute. The group presently consists of eleven students and are training under the guidance of Pandit Kushal Kumar Das, a noted sitar artist from India. Since its inception, the band has performed at the Bengal Classical Music Festival 2016, Bengal Sangskriti Utsab 2017, and at an event organised by BRAC. Bengal Classical Music Festival 2017 will feature a sitar recital by Proshanjit Mondol, T M Selim Reza, Ringko Chondra Das, Mehreen Alam, Jyoti Banerjee, Mohamad Kausar and Jahangir Alam Shraban.