Various events Jan to May 2017

Continuing my walk down memory lane reviewing the various events of the last year, here are various events from the first part of 2017...

JANUARY 2017

• Fri 13 Jan Mullumbimby: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet - I had quite a few concerts with Tenzin in January - always lovely. This was part of his annual "For Tibet With Love" series of concerts raising funds for Tibetan Children's Village. This particular concert included a collaboration with devotional singer Amir Paiss to conclude the concert.
    
• Sat 14 Jan Gold Coast: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet - Thanks to Cameron and Lyza of The Infinite Connection.
  
  
  
• Sat 21 Jan Boonah: Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks with special guests Shen Flindell (tabla) and Richard Grantham (viola)
  
  
   
• Fri 27 Jan New Farm: Prayer for Peace - Deva Premal, Tenzin Choegyal, Tashi Lhunpo Monks
  
  
  Soundchecking at Brisbane Powerhouse before Deva Premal...
   
  
  
  
  After show with Manose
  
• Sat 28 Jan Brisbane: Tibet2Timbuk2 in Queen St Mall
  
  
   Tibet2Timbuk2: Shen, Tenzin, Marcello, Richard Grantham
   
• Sun 29 Jan Oxley: Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Saraswati Puja concert - My guru-ji's house in Varanasi has hosted home concerts for Saraswati Puja almost every year for more than 50 years. I try to continue the tradition here in Australia when possible - the last time I was home for Saraswati Puja was in 2013. I invited a few musicians and music teachers' senior students to come and offer music at our altar, with tabla accompaniment by my senior students.
  
  

FEBRUARY 2017

• Sat 4 Feb Myocum: Soul Sangeet Vol 3 workshop and concert - Shivam and Shen - I was down in Byron for a rehearsal and so Shivam kindly pulled together this little event for us to share some music at. Good times.
   
• Sat 11 Feb Roma St: Yuki-Onna @ Kisaragi Sai - My main role was as a babysitter but I'm so proud of Yuki in putting this Butoh dance performance together at a Japanese festival in Roma St Parklands.
  
  
  Yuki-Onna promotional shot
  
  
  Yuki-Onna at Kisaragi Sai Japanese Festival

Mon 20 Feb - Thu 23 Mar - India Trip 2017 - see previous post.

MARCH 2017

• Sat 25 Mar Wynnum: Spirit of Bhakti - at the beautiful Inna Bliss Wynnum studio overlooking Moreton Bay. Lovely as always to play with Rebecca and Menaka in Spirit of Bhakti. 

APRIL 2017

• Sun 9 Apr Oxley: Tabla Workshop with Surojato Roy - Jazz guitarist Bart Stenhouse had brought Surojato to Australia for their tour, and I was really happy for the chance for my students (others welcome of course) to learn something from a visiting tabla master. We learnt a chalan of Lucknow gharana and worked quite a bit on clear vocalisation of compositions.
  
  
  
• Fri 14 - Sun 16 Apr Byron Bay Blues Fest: Tenzin and Shen - A new experience for me, witnessing the music industry in full force, as Bluesfest plays host to a huge array of international stars and the backstage crews and equipment are just phenomenal. The artists' catering is the best I've ever seen at any festival. It was a bit strange playing to an audience who were standing on gravel rather than sitting down, but we rocked the house. And I got to see Santana and his amazing band from the backstage viewing platform. Thanks to Tenzin Choegyal for inviting me to accompany him as part of the Boomerang Festival of indigenous performers, hosted by Bluesfest.
  
  
  
  
• Sat 22 Apr Oxley: Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ with Yuki
   
• Fri 28 Apr New Farm: Festival of Tibet - Lotus Born Concert - Another memorable collaboration with Tenzin Choegyal and artist Karma Phuntsok, evolving from Festivals of Tibet in 2015 and 2016. This year's show had a really nice flow and variety of styles, with pieces by Peter Hunt (jazz guitar/vocal), Richard Grantham (looped viola), Marcello Milani (vocals/guitar) and of course Tenzin Choegyal, interspersed with traditional Tibetan song and dance by Tenzing Yeshi.
  
  

MAY 2017

• Sat 6 May Gold Coast: Spirit of Bhakti - Thanks to Cameron and Lyza of Infinite Connection for hosting us.
  
  
   
• Sun 7 May Redlands and Bay Islands Cultural Festival - with Tabla Tarrango! - Thanks to my students Bipro and Jesinthan for coming and putting on a tabla show with me. Next time I'll ask to be on the main stage. It was a beautiful day and a good incentive for the boys to do some performance-focused practice.

India trip 2017

For the last few years we have been visiting India for Dhrupad Mela on the event of Shivaratri, and if possible staying for my guru-ji's memorial concert on March 17. This year was the 100th anniversary of his birthday so we made it a priority to attend. Unfortunately, quite early in this India trip I was struck by shingles so spent quite a lot of time in bed with severe back pain, saving my energy for lessons and the occasional concert. I did get some excellent lessons from Pt Pooran Maharaj as well as my guru-bhai Manishankar Tripathi, saw some fantastic performances, and made a few good new friends too.

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar (rudra veena) with Sukhad Munde (pakhawaj) at Dhrupad Mela 2017.

Beautiful performance by vocalist Kalapini Komkali at the Shivaratri Sangeet Mahotsav


I bumped into Tu of Bangkok's Tu's Place at the Dhrupad Mela, having not met for about 10 years!

I really enjoyed performing with UK bansuri player Jason Kalidas, at an all-night memorial concert for late pakhawaji Amit Shani.
 
Yuki had the opportunity to perform at Subah-e-Benares, a daily dawn concert on Assi Ghat.
  

Practice with guru-bhai Manishankar Tripathi and his student Ashesh Mishra.
 

My friend, Turkish vocalist Feridun Avar, visited from Brisbane on his way to Turkey and France. We visited the Ganesh Hall at my guru-ji Pt Pooran Maharaj's house.
 
We also had a little concert at Vegan and Raw Restaurant near Assi, where we were joined by Wade Evans on oud.

Supriyo Dutta and Sangeet Mishra at Woodford

This summer we had the great pleasure of hosting vocalist Supriyo Dutta, who we became friends with on previous trips through Kolkata. I had suggested him as a performer at Woodford Folk Festival and not only did they accept, they offered to also bring Sangeet Mishra to accompany on sarangi! It was a dream come true presenting such a high level of Indian classical music at Woodford, the likes of which they 'd never seen before. Supriyo and Sangeet had never met, but the chemistry in their performances was just fantastic. It was also a real treat that Supriyo invited Yuki to give vocal support in our concerts there.

Prior to Woodford, we had a few small events with Supriyo in Goonengerry and Myocum (including a workshop), hosted by and also featuring Indian slide guitarist Shivam Rath, now resident in NNSW and organising regular Indian music events there, and a workshop and home concert in Brisbane.

Good times in Byron Bay - Supriyo Dutta, Shen and Yuki

Post-concert at Serene Earth Sanctuary in Myocum
 - Yuki, Shen, Premala, Supriyo, Shyan Kishore, Shivam Rath

Woodford was one of the hottest ever - regularly over 40 - which made it tough, but the music was just marvellous.

Final sunset of 2016 - the sun was in my eyes, hence the sunglasses.

First concert of 2017, right around midnight.




My tabla student group Tabla Tarrango were invited to perform on New Year's Day, with accompaniment by Sangeet Mishra (sarangi).

After Woodford Festival, Supriyo headed home to Kolkata and we had a few little concerts with Sangeet Mishra, including a nice Queen St Mall show with Tenzin Choegyal and Tashi Lhunpo Monks of Tibet, and a home concert with sitarist Saikat Bhattacharya.

Shen, Saikat and Sangeet at Saikat's home in Parkinson.

Various events Jul to Dec 2016

Wow, I used to be such a regular blogger and here I find I can go back to July 2016 for concerts I haven't mentioned here yet. Here goes - 49 events over the last financial year to be spread out over the next few posts...

JULY 2016

• Sat 16 Jul 9th Annual Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School Concert - always a fantastic event - please click on the link for the full blog post.
  
  
  Juniors group: Ben, Ashwin, Aaryan, Aditya and Josh.
   
• Sun 31 Jul Mt Gravatt E: Pt Upendra Bhat (Hindustani vocal) - disciple of Pt Bhimsen Joshi
  
  
  Shen, Pt Upendra Bhat (vocal) and Joseph Nand (harmonium)

AUGUST 2016

• Sat 6 Aug Rocklea: Namaste World - A Multi-Cultural Carnival - Tabla Tarrango! - I got my 3 seniormost students, Jesinthan, Tito and Sanjey, to join me for a really nice presentation of tabla compositions at this new outdoor festival organised by Radio 4EB's Indian group.
  
  
  
   Mt Gravatt: Murali Ramakrishnan (bansuri), Shrabani Choudhury (sitar), Shen - Then later that same day I joined a Swara Mohini concert featuring two of Brisbane's talented artists.
  
  
  
• Sun 7 Aug Southport: Gold Coast Multicultural Festival - Tabla Tarrango! - My Gold Coast students Thejan, Siva and Arun were joined by Darshil Shah giving naghma on bansuri.
  
  
  
• Fri 26 Aug BEMAC: Rajyashree Josyer (Carnatic vocal) - part of BEMAC's Singout Sista series of women in world music, featuring the former Brisbane resident Carnatic exponent.
  
  
  
• Sat 27 -Sun 28 Aug Nimbin: Soul ~ Sangeeta - Shivam Rath and friends - Yuki and I joined Shivam Rath (Indian slide guitar) and Jolanda Moyle (sarangi) for evening and morning concerts of Dhrupad and instrumental Hindustani classical music. I got the pakhawaj out for my first concert! It was also Yuki's first proper concert without a babysitter since being a mother, and our 3 year old daughter Saraswati was so good, lying down quietly behind her on the stage!
  
  

SEPTEMBER 2016

• Sat 3 Sep BEMAC: Sangeet Mela 2016 - The third Sangeet Mela was headlined by Pt Shubhendra Rao (sitar) and Smt Saskia Rao-de Haas (cello) with Sri Zuheb Ahmed Khan (tabla) and was certainly the best and most consistent yet. Read the full report here.
  
  
  
  
• Sun 4 Sep Oxley: Sangeet Mela 2016 Workshops - The fantastic Sangeet Mela international artists gave very enjoyable workshops in tabla, raga, and bowed instruments.
   
• Sat 17 Sep Mt Gravatt: Smt Sunita Tikare (Hindustani vocal) - senior disciple of late Smt Kishori Amonkar, Sunita-ji will be performing at Sangeet Mela 2017!
  
  
  Smt Sunita Tikare with the usual Brisbane vocal accompaniment team of Shen and Joseph.

OCTOBER 2016

• Sat 8 Oct Peregian: Spirit of Bhakti - a small fun concert, before which we had this and several other photos taken:
  
  
  
• Sun 9 Oct Westlake: Navaratri home concert by Ashu Babu Memorial Tabla School - a small devotional event at the home of my senior student Sanjey Sivaananthan, featuring Murali Ramakrishnan and Darshil Shah both on bansuri.
  
  
  
• Sat 15 Oct Holland Park: Sangeet Premi Club presents Sangeet Mehfil - An evening of old Bollywood songs with Indian classical bases, featuring Usha Chivukula and Mansey Kinarivala on vocals.
   
• Sun 16 Oct Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ - with Yuki Taniguchi Flindell (I played a bit of pakhawaj).
   
• Fri 21 Oct Spirit of Bhakti played on a boat in the Brisbane River, as part of a demo series of yoga and exercise classes in a Fitness and Health Expo.
  
  
  Yes I played tabla here.
   
• Sat 29 Oct New Farm: Infinity Kathak presents: 7 Beats and Bells - One of the biggest and best productions I've ever been involved with - Dr Helena Joshi led a huge Kathak dance show at the Judith Wright Centre, with a fantastic ensemble of musicians: Shen Flindell (tabla), Mansey Kinarivala Gandhi (vocal), Darshil A. Shah (bansuri), Richard Grantham (viola), Monique Bartkowiak (cello) and Shreyas Niwas (drumkit). After Helena's student performances and some musical interludes, the main feature "7 Beats and Bells" presented traditional Kathak dance in Rupak taal in a fusion with Western accompaniment of viola, cello and drumkit. We worked very hard over several months and it was quite a success. I felt the Kathak tabla nut starting to crack for me and at last started getting a freer feeling and understanding of how to interpret Kathak compositions on the tabla. Thanks Helena! More photos at the Infinity Kathak Facebook album.
  
  

NOVEMBER 2016

• Sat 19 Nov Bulimba: Spirit of Bhakti - A beautiful evening at Inna Bliss Yoga in Bulimba. Unfortunately there aren't many photos of Spirit of Bhakti shows because everyone is blissing out in the dim lighting.
   
• Fri 25 Nov BEMAC and Tenzin Choegyal Present World Music Café: Himalayan Film Festival featuring Short Films + Tibet2Timbuk2 - Some wonderful short films and some wonderful music. We welcomed Richard Grantham on viola, who I met through the 7 Beats and Bells Kathak show. You'll see his face appearing here in a few different projects - a very talented man.
  
  
  Tibet2Timbuk2 - Shen, Tenzin, Marcello, Richard

DECEMBER 2016

• Sat 3 Dec Samford: High Vibes in the Valley - Spirit of Bhakti and Andy Copeman - A dark stormy evening in hills of Samford, enjoying the beautiful sounds of these two healing music acts.
   
• Sun 4 Dec Oxley: Introduction to Dhrupad ~Ancient Indian Vocal Workshop~ - a bit of pakhawaj for me.

Sangeet Mela 2016 – Heaven on Earth for Music Lovers

via Sangeet Mela news...

Sangeet Mela, now in its third year, continued its trend of ever more fabulous Indian classical performances on Saturday 3rd September 2016 at Queensland Multicultural Centre. The high quality of each item kept the near capacity audience riveted to their seats, and there was a building sense of anticipation for the final “East Marries West” jugalbandi by international feature artists, Pt Shubhendra Rao (sitar) and Smt Saskia Rao-de Haas (cello) with Sri Zuheb Ahmed Khan (tabla).

Sangeet Mela 2016 MCs Ku Alka Jaggessar and Dr Helena Joshi

The festival opened with performances by young artists under 25 who had applied for the Sangeet Premi Rising Star Awards and the chance to perform at this prestigious festival. Mathuja Bavan, who won the award for Bharat Natyam dance in 2015, returned to the stage on violin, accompanying her younger sister Oaviya who received the award for Carnatic vocal. They were joined on mridangam by fellow award winner Hariharan Vaheesan and his guru Arthavan Selvanathan.

Rising Star Award winners Hariharan Vaheesan, Mathuja Bavan and Oaviya Bavan with Brisbane Indian Times editor Sri Umesh Chandra

The featured Rising Star in Hindustani vocal was Ananya Muralidharan, who enchanted the audience with her sweet voice, rendering Raga Bhimpalassi and a short bhajan most beautifully.
Finally Vellantina Ravirajah received the award for Bharat Natyam dance and demonstrated her talent in abhinaya (facial expressions) and drama.We heartily congratulate this year’s Sangeet Premi Rising Star Award winners and look forward to many more great performances from them.

The afternoon session closed with a tabla solo by Sri Zuheb Ahmed Khan, a member of the founding family of Ajrara Gharana. His performance featured a dazzling range of compositions from off-beat Peshkar to rapid, flowing Rela and sent the audience to the interval eagerly awaiting more.
The second session opened with a captivating performance of Mohiniattam dance by Smt Bindu Rajendren, certainly one of the highlights in a day full of magic moments. Her padams“Karukarey Karmukil”, “Enthaho vallabha” and “Pandhattam” had the crowd enthralled with her wide palette of expressions from humorous to serene.

Sangeet Premi Club president Yousuf Alikhan invited the audience to spread the word about Sangeet Mela and Indian classical music and dance.

Smt Charulatha Mani (Carnatic vocal), with accompaniment by interstate artists Sridhar Chari (mridangam) and Kranthi Kiran Mudigonda (violin), gave a consummate presentation of how so-called “difficult” classical music can be presented with mastery and grace, and become spell-binding for any listener regardless of background. She even had everyone laughing when she responded to some hesitant applause with “a few more years of Sangeet Mela and you’ll know when to clap!”

The sunset session was closed by young Sydney vocalist, Sri Sayak Bhattacharya presenting Raga Bihag followed by a short rendition of Raga Puriya Kalyan, with able accompaniment by local artists Sri Joseph Nand (harmonium) and Sri Shen Flindell (tabla). The ease and fluidity of his voice evoked his renowned guru Ustad Rashid Khan, and it was hard to believe that he grew up mainly in Sydney.

Festival director Sri Shen Flindell, Brisbane Indian Times editor Sri Umesh Chandra, Councillor Jonathan Sri of The Gabba Ward, and Sangeet Premi Club president Sri Yousuf Alikhan. 

Following the dinner interval, we had a special performance by Bharat Natyam dancer Ku Janani Ganapathi with a live ensemble of local and interstate musicians led by vocalist Smt Susmitha Ravi and natthuvangist Smt Usha Chivukula.
Janani gave a masterful performance and the electricity manifest by the dancer and musicians creating their art simultaneously added to the excitement and attraction.

Councillor Jonathan Sri of The Gabba Ward addressed the audience while the stage was being set up for the final item. The Gabba Ward supported Sangeet Mela 2016 through the Suburban Development Fund. His comments about the importance of cultural events like Sangeet Mela and how it would be better to spend a bit less on sport and more on culture were very well received.
At last the moment every was waiting for had arrived. Having witnessed a wide variety of excellent Indian classical performances, everyone was in the mood for something really sensational and their expectations were exceeded by Sangeet Mela 2016’s grand finale.Pt Shubhendra Rao, protegee of the great sitar maestro Pt Ravi Shankar, with his wife Smt Saskia Rao-de Haas, pioneer of the Indian cello, had the audience captivated from first to last with their jugalbandi. In particular, the sound of the cello with its long deep meends and beautiful tone, and Saskia’s lively and at times ecstatic demeanour really stole the show.
The harmony and interplay between Shubhendra’s traditional Maihar gharana sitar and Saskia’s innovative cello demonstrated a couple deeply in love and honouring each other through their shared devotion to classical tradition. Alap-jor-jhala in Raga Jog was followed by vilambit and drut gats in Rag Charukeshi, where tablist Zuheb Ahmed Khan added tasteful accompaniment and thrilling solos. The artists responded to the standing ovation and calls for encore with a lovely short medley of Vaishnava Janato and a Bengali dhun.
A day of smiles and thrills, meditation and ecstasy through music and dance had come to a close. The festival organisers Sangeet Premi Club and EthnoSuperLounge are very grateful to the sponsors and supporting organisations, artists, volunteers and ticket buyers for making it all possible. We eagerly await Sangeet Mela 2017.

Photo credits: Brian Sullivan and Barani Ganapathi. See many more photos in our Sangeet Mela 2016 Facebook album.

Sangeet Mela 2016 was supported by the Lord Mayor’s Suburban Initiative Fund and The Gabba Ward, and proudly sponsored by Platinum Sponsor SolarSpan, Australia’s favourite all-in-one patio roof, insulation & ceiling, giving superior comfort & style to your outdoor area. Also supported by Supporting Organisation Sahaja Yoga Meditation, Silver Sponsors Homeopathy for Health (Rukmani Paliwal), Sitar Restaurant, Target Travels & Tours, Yoga With Yolanda, IGA Forest Lake, and Exclusive Media Sponsors Brisbane Indian Times and Australian Indian Radio. Sangeet Mela is organised bySangeet Premi Club in conjunction with EthnoSuperLounge, and underwritten by a consortium of dedicated Indian classical music lovers including Australia-India Cultural Exchange Association, Tabla Wala Australia, and FinancialFirst.