Headlining Performers
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Sabir Khan
Sabir Khan is an Indian Classical musician known for his mastery of sarangi. He is the ninth generation musicians from his family to take up the instrument. Khan is the great grandson of Ustad Azim Khan, grandson of Ustad Gulab Khan, nephew of Hanif Khan and cousin of Dilshad Khan. He began his training under the guidance of his father, Ustad Sultan Khan, and uncle, Ustad Nasir Khan, and belongs to Sikar Gharana of Music. He has performed alongside his father and other great artists such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Kumar Bose, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Gulam Ali, Talat Aziz, Asha Bhosle and The Hazards. Khan has also played in several feature films like Chameli, Rog, Dor, Anwar, Sanwariya, Chhodon Naa Yaar, Jodha Akbar and more recently Amma.
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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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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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Shivkumar Sharma
The name Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, to many aficionados of classical music, is synonymous with the santoor. He is credited for bringing the instrument from the realm of Kashmiri folk music into that of the Indian Classical platform, while facing resistance from most conservative quarters. Sharma’s journey began when his father asked him to pursue the development of the Kashmiri santoor. His persistence, repeated experiments and reconfigurations with the instrument gave it new life and eventually paved the way for a new genre of music, earning him tremendous success in the process. Considered to be a living legend and an embodiment of Indian ethos and values, Shivkumar Sharma has been the recipient of several awards from all over the world, which includes the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Shri, Tansen Samman, Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, International Cultural Ambassador Award, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters of The Indira Gandhi National Open University, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellow, amongst many others.
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Subhankar Banerjee
Subhankar Banerjee is a notable tabla artist from Kolkata, India. He began his training under the guidance of Swapan Shiva and, over the years, he has dedicated himself in exploring the disciplines of other gharanas. Banerjee is best known for his virtuosity and his improvisational ability. He has accompanied many great musicians including Pandit Ravi Shankar, John McLaughlin, Ustad Rashid Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Dr. L Subramaniam, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit M S Gopalkrishnan, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit V G Jog, Ustad Imrat Hussain Khan, amongst many others. He has toured in both India and abroad.
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Subhen Chatterjee
Subhen Chatterjee is a renowned classical and fusion tabla artist from India. He trained under the guidance of Pandit Swapan Chowdhury. Chatterjee shared the stage with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Vidushi Girija Devi, Vidushi Shobha Gurtu, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Aashish Khan, Paul Horn, David Crosby and many others. He has also toured in India and abroad. Chatterjee is a member of the band Karma and is also a regular performer at WOMAD. He is a recipient of a Grammy nomination, Just Plain Folk (JPF) Award nomination, Jadu Bhatta Award from Salt Lake Music Conference and Honorary Citizenship from the State of Alabama. Chatterjee holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing live with 346 musicians in Jorhat (Assam).
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Sujata Mohapatra
Sujata Mohapatra was born in Balasore in 1968. She started learning Odissi at an early age from Guru Sudhakar Sahu and furthered her training under Padma Vibhushan and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Sujata Mohapatra is actively involved in teaching Odissi and currently holds the designation of Principal of 'Srjan' (Odissi Nrityabhasa). She performs in India and abroad as a soloist and a leading member of the Srjan Dance Troupe. Her awards include the Hope of India award in 2001, the Bheemeshwar Pratikha Samman in 2004 and the Raaza Puruskar in 2008.
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Supriya Das
Born in 1990, Supriya Das is a classical vocalist who was introduced to music from a very early age. Trained under Pandit Ramkanai Das till he passed away recently, Supriya later become a disciple of FM Rezwan Ali and received a brief training from Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar under a Bengal Foundation scholarship. She is a regular Radio Bangladesh Grade A artist in both classical and Nazrul Sangeet; and has performed in many important programmes, including 5th Annual Classical Music Conference of Lakshyapar and the Bengal Classical Music Festival 2014. Currently a MBA student at Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Supriya aspires to spend her life learning and propagating classical music.